By the time the fourth quarter arrives, and snowflakes are flying again in Canada, TRADER Corp. will have new ownership.

Last week amid the dog days of summer, AutoScout24, a leading pan-European online automotive marketplace, signed an agreement to acquire TRADER Canada from Thoma Bravo.

In conjunction with this acquisition, funds affiliated with existing majority shareholder Hellman & Friedman (H&F) will make a “meaningful” incremental equity investment in AutoScout24, according to a news release.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

With this acquisition, the AutoScout24 Group, which includes leading online automotive marketplaces in continental Europe, Germany’s largest online automotive market for leasing offers, LeasingMarkt.de, and one of Europe’s fastest-growing B2B used-car trading platforms, AutoProff, extends its presence outside of Europe and strengthens its position as a leading global online automotive marketplace.

The transaction also expands AutoScout24’s service offering into automotive dealer software and lender solutions through TRADER Canada’s leading offerings.

“I am delighted to welcome the TRADER Canada team and its leading brands to the AutoScout24 family,” AutoScout24 Group CEO Peter Brooks-Johnson. “TRADER Canada’s impressive long-term track record, clear position as Canada’s most important automotive marketplace, and comprehensive expertise in dealer software and fintech solutions speak for themselves.

“This acquisition strengthens AutoScout24’s position as a leading global online automotive marketplace and will help accelerate the growth of both platforms. As a result, we will offer our customers, trade partners, OEMs, and financing partners in Europe and Canada better services and more innovative solutions,” Brooks-Johnson continued.

TRADER Canada operates two of Canada’s online automotive marketplaces, English-language AutoTrader.ca and French-language AutoHebdo.net, with 26 million monthly visits, more than 450,000 vehicle listings, and 5,000 dealer partners.

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Toronto, the company also provides several automotive dealer software solutions under the AutoSync brand and operates Dealertrack, the Canadian portal connecting automotive dealers and lenders, as well as Collateral Management Solutions, the primary provider of lien and registration services, recovery services, and insolvency management solutions to Canadian lenders.

Throughout their ownership, executives said Thoma Bravo worked closely with TRADER Canada president and CEO Sebastian Baldwin and the company team to expand its product portfolio through both organic investments and strategic acquisitions to better serve the company’s growing customer base.

“It’s been a privilege to work with Sebastian and the TRADER team,” Thoma Bravo managing partner Holden Spaht said in the news release. “Through the application of our software expertise and M&A strategy, we helped transform TRADER from an online automotive marketplace to a market leading platform of digital retail solutions for consumers and automotive dealers in Canada.

“We are confident that AutoScout24 is a great home for TRADER, and we look forward to following their continued success together,” Spaht continued.

Thoma Bravo partner Peter Stefanski added: “We are proud to have supported TRADER over the course of our investment, driving growth and innovation while creating a better experience for both dealers and car-buyers across all of Canada.”

Baldwin offered perspectives on what the future of TRADER Corp. could be.

“AutoScout24’s track record of success with their automotive marketplaces presents a perfect alignment with the TRADER business and our future long-term goals,” Baldwin said. “In addition to our marketplaces, which are the No. 1 most trusted choice for Canadian car shoppers, our market-leading software and automotive finance solutions businesses represent further opportunities for collaboration.

“We look forward to working together to continue strengthening TRADER’s market leading position across the breadth of the Canadian automotive sector,” Baldwin went on to say.

RBC Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank are acting as M&A advisors to AutoScout24 and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Davies Ward Philipps & Vineberg LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP are acting as legal counsel.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as lead financial advisor; BofA Securities and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. are also acting as financial advisors to TRADER and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, McMillan LLP and Goodmans LLP are acting as legal counsel.

“We have been successful investors in the automotive classifieds sector since 2014 and have come to appreciate the commonality, across all geographies, of the strategic product innovations required to maximize the efficiency of the car buying journey for consumers and dealers,” H&F partner Blake Kleinman said in the news release.

“Bringing TRADER into the AutoScout24 family significantly enhances our ability to leverage our global scale and common technology platform to invest in innovation that will better serve consumers, dealers, and our other partners. The additional equity investment from H&F in this transaction demonstrates our long-term vision of building the leading global automotive classifieds platform,” Kleinman went on to say.