Milwaukee-based ARI Network Services Inc. has acquired Weston, Florida-based Auction123 Inc.
Auction123 provides software to car dealerships that allow them to automate the online sale of their inventory. The company was founded in 2001 and has about 19 employees, said Bill Nurthen, chief financial officer at ARI.
Auction123 will retain its location and employees in Florida. It will be known as Auction123, an ARI Network Services company. The transaction price has not yet been disclosed.
ARI provides sales software and marketing tools for dealers, distributors and manufacturers. Last week, the company reported record net income of $458,000 in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Last year, ARI acquired the assets of Wexford, Pennsylvania-based tire and auto service software developer TASCO Corp. TASCO’s business management software is used by retailers, repair centers, wholesalers, distributors and re-manufacturers that deal with aftermarket tires and wheels.
This latest acquisition will help ARI enter the automotive dealership market, Nurthen said. And it will add about $4 million in annual revenue.
“We operate our software in key vertical markets. Traditionally, those have been power sports, marine outdoor power equipment and appliances. We’ve recently entered tire and wheel and home medical equipment,” he said.
“The acquisition of Auction123 will accelerate ARI’s growth in our existing vertical markets, introduces ARI into the automotive dealer market and is consistent with our strategy to grow the business both organically and through strategic acquisitions,” said Roy Olivier, president and chief executive officer of ARI. “We are excited about the opportunity to cross-sell our other products into Auction123’s base of more than 1,200 dealers.”
ARI also has recently undergone a hiring push. The company had about 87 employees in Milwaukee a year ago, and now is up to 105, Nurthen said. It now has more than 400 total employees at nine domestic and two international locations.
“It’s the headquarters here, so even though we have lots of employees in other locations, as the company overall grows, we need to grow some more in the headquarters here to support the overall organization,” he said.
