LONDON, Ontario -

CarProof, one of Canada’s largest vehicle history report providers, announced Monday the sale of a minority stake in the company to an American-based private equity investment firm.  

The new minority stake holder is San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman, which has offices in London, New York and San Francisco.

Ed Woiteshek, a director at Hellman & Friedman, commented on the news, stressing the potential of the vehicle history report market.

“Hellman & Friedman is thrilled to invest in and partner with CarProof,” said Woiteshek.  “We recognize that the vehicle history report industry is one with very strong potential and see this partnership as an incredible opportunity for both companies. We are enthusiastic about CarProof’s strategic vision for the future and are excited to support the company in its next phase of growth.”

Patrick Healy, deputy chief executive officer of the equity investment firm, explained that CarProof is the “the intersection of two areas of expertise” for the company: “investing in world class data and information services businesses and partnering with exceptional business leaders like Paul Antony (president and CEO at CarProof) and his co-founders through minority investments.”

Antony said, “Hellman & Friedman has a vast amount of experience across multiple industries and a fantastic track record of partnering with and scaling outstanding franchises.

 “It was important to us to find a partner that would help us grow our company both strategically and organically while maintaining our core philosophy and corporate culture. We feel honoured to work with Hellman & Friedman, a company that has such an impressive pedigree. Leveraging each other’s strengths and relationships will create tremendous value for our customers and partners,” he concluded.

Jefferies LLC, the global investment banking firm, acted as financial adviser to CarProof.

Editor's Note: For more news from Canadian companies in the remarketing industry, stay tuned to our sister publication Auto Remarketing Canada. Check out the summer digital edition here.