Online used-vehicle retailer Carvana, pressed in recent months to expand its vehicle reconditioning capacity, said Thursday it plans to buy the ADESA U.S. physical wholesale auction business from KAR Global Inc. for $2.2 billion in cash.
The transaction would “include all auction sales, operations and staff” at ADESA’s 56 vehicle logistics centers in the U.S. It would also include exclusive use of the ADESA.com marketplace in the U.S., according to KAR Global.
Carvana said it will operate the wholesale auction business under the ADESA brand name. ADESA U.S. President John Hammer, additional ADESA executives and 4,500 ADESA and KAR employees will transition to Carvana once the deal closes.
“ADESA earned its place as a respected brand in our industry because of its dedicated team and robust operations,” Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia said in a news release. “We have long admired ADESA, having come to appreciate their approach as a customer for many years. We look forward to joining forces and continuing on the path of delivering the best customer offering for both retail and wholesale customers.”
KAR Global indicated it expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2022.
