Vortex, ABN Amro sell CarsOnTheWeb to trade for up to €156m

The transaction is valued at €91m in cash with performance-related add-ons worth an additional €65m.

Vortex made the divestment from its €35m buyout fund, which held a final close at the end of 2017 and invests in companies with enterprise values of up to €40m. 

Since the original acquisition in 2016, COTW has increased the number of cars sold annually from 32,576 to 42,000, and aims to reach 100,000 by 2021. It generated revenues of €287m in 2016.

Kar intends to retain all COTW's staff and operating locations, and will use the business to expand into continental Europe.

Previous funding
Vortex and ABN jointly acquired COTW in a buyout transaction in December 2016. Former owner Steven Lismont retained a stake in the company.

Company
Established in 2004, COTW is a B2B car auction platform. It sells to car dealers and traders, fleet management companies and leasing companies. Based in Leuven, Belgium, the company has additional offices in Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands and Spain, and employs 135 people.

People
Vortex Capital Partners – Evert Jan de Groot, Joost Moerland (partners).
CarsOnTheWeb – Steven Lismont (founder); Johan Meyssen (CEO).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Trade sale
• Belgium