Benzinga | Nov 30, 2020 08:35AM EST

CDK Global To Sell International Business To Francisco Partners For $1.45B

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDK Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDK) (the "Company" or "CDK"), a leading provider of dealer management systems ("DMS") and integrated information technology solutions to the automotive retailing and adjacent industries, announced today the execution of a definitive agreement to sell its CDK International business segment ("CDKI") to Francisco Partners for $1.45 billion. The purchase price represents approximately 15 times CDKI's LTM adjusted EBITDA(1) including expenses for the standalone business. CDK expects the transaction to be completed during the third quarter of its fiscal year 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.



"I am excited to announce this important milestone for CDK. With this transaction, we can now focus on executing the next phase of our growth journey and spotlight our attention on our North America business," said Brian Krzanich, CDK president and chief executive officer. "CDK has made significant progress over the last two years in strengthening and expanding our core business to be customer-centric and a leader in technology for our dealers, OEMs and partners and we have seen the positive results of our investment efforts. We are now well positioned to expand our activities and create new revenue streams with even stronger growth prospects."

"While we believe the International business is a great asset and are very pleased with the compelling valuation, it largely operated independently, with specific technology, sales and operations tailored to the International markets. The sale of this business strengthens our balance sheet and provides significant financial flexibility in support of our goals to drive value and to accelerate growth in our North America business," said Joe Tautges, CDK chief operating officer and interim chief financial officer. "As our track record indicates, we will use a thoughtful returns-based approach to allocating capital and will provide an update to our planned use of proceeds at the release of our Q2 fiscal 2021 earnings results."