California’s J.D. Power, a global data analytics and consumer intelligence company, Monday announced a merger with Canada’s Autodata Solutions, which offers data and software solutions for the automotive industry. Both companies have Troy offices, and the combined company will be headquartered in Troy.
The merger marks the completion of J.D. Power’s acquisition by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, and owner of Autodata Solutions. The newly combined company will operate under the name J.D. Power and offer new and pre-owned automobile transactional data, valuation tools, vehicle feature information, and consumer analytics to the automotive industry.
“The joining of these two leading companies will enable the auto industry to make the process of configuring, ordering, and selling cars more efficient, which can improve profitability and capital deployment,” says Scott Crabill, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “This capability is exactly the kind of proven, concrete insight the auto industry needs as it confronts changing consumer demands in a transforming technology environment.”
J.D. Power will continue to provide benchmarks, analytics, and customer insights across the banking and payments, wealth and lending, telecommunications, insurance, health, travel, and utilities sectors through its global business intelligence division.
“The combination of J.D. Power’s deep data, analytics, and customer experience insights with Autodata Solutions’ comprehensive vehicle feature data and dealer and manufacturer technology platforms will create a robust and insightful automotive industry resource for analyzing consumer demand and optimizing the vehicle sales process,” says Dave Habiger, president and CEO of J.D. Power. “As the auto industry continues to be disrupted by changing patterns of consumer behavior and new technologies such as connected vehicles, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and ridesharing, we are building a company that will help the entire industry rise to the challenge.”
In the automotive sector, J.D. Power is recognized for its voice-of-the-consumer research and its Power Information Network and Used Car Guide products. The company also uses artificial intelligence to merge its database of consumer behavioral data, pricing information, and telematics data into predictive models. The company has been delivering industry intelligence for more than 50 years.
Autodata provides software as a service and software solutions that range from back-end automation systems that enable dealer to OEM vehicle ordering to data-driven interactive marketing initiatives. Its solutions are designed to increase the effectiveness of the automotive sales ecosystem and include rebates and incentives, vehicle identification number decode and describe, and vehicle configuration and comparisons.
“The new J.D. Power delivers the authoritative ground truth and predictive intelligence the automotive industry so desperately needs right now to stay in sync with changing patterns of consumer behavior, rapid-fire technological change, and a challenging macroeconomic environment,” says Craig Jennings, former president and CEO of Autodata Solutions, who will continue as president of the Autodata division in the newly combined company.
“By pairing our platform with J.D. Power’s deep data and analytics capabilities, we’re going to be able to take the guesswork out of the manufacturing and floor planning process, helping manufacturers and dealers drive maximum impact and profitability by getting the new vehicle formula just right. We are excited to be joining the J.D. Power team to make that vision a reality.”
In addition to the investment by Thoma Bravo, J.D. Power’s existing management team will reinvest its ownership interest into the combined company. All current Autodata and J.D. Power employees will have the opportunity to take an ownership stake in the company.
