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AutoScout24 Finalizes Agreement to Acquire TRADER Corporation

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GRUENWALD, Germany and TORONTO, Aug. 16, 2024 /CNW/ – AutoScout24, the leading pan-European online automotive marketplace, has signed an agreement to acquire TRADER Corporation (“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.

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.

TRADER Canada operates Canada’s leading 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 leading 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, Thoma Bravo worked closely with TRADER Canada to expand its innovative product portfolio through both organic investments and strategic acquisitions to better serve the company’s growing customer base.

Peter Brooks-Johnson, CEO of the AutoScout24 Group: “I am delighted to welcome the TRADER Canada team and its leading brands to the AutoScout24 family. 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.”

Sebastian Baldwin, President and CEO of TRADER Corporation: “AutoScout24’s track record of success with their automotive marketplaces presents a perfect alignment with the TRADER business and our future long-term goals. In addition to our marketplaces, which are the #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.”

Blake Kleinman, Partner at H&F: “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. 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.”

Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo: “It’s been a privilege to work with Sebastian and the TRADER team. 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.” Peter Stefanski, a Partner at Thoma Bravo 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.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024. 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.

About AutoScout24

With over 2 million vehicle listings, around 30 million users per month and more than 43,000 dealer partners, AutoScout24 is the largest pan-European online car market. In addition to Germany, the AutoScout24 Group is also represented in the European core markets of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Poland and Sweden. As a comprehensive marketplace for mobility, AutoScout24 is making targeted investments in the growth areas of leasing, car subscriptions, electromobility and online car purchases. With AutoScout24 smyle, the marketplace enables its users to purchase vehicles completely online – free of charge and delivered ready-to-drive directly to their doorstep. Leasing specialist LeasingMarkt.de has also been part of the AutoScout24 Group since 2020 and the B2B auction platform AUTOproff since 2022. Together, the marketplaces are significantly driving the digitalisation of the European car trade.

More information on www.autoscout24.de   

Media Contact
Julia Dressen   
Fon +49 89 444 56-1185  
presse@autoscout24.de

About TRADER Corporation

TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in online media, dealership and OEM software, and lender services. The company is comprised of AutoTrader.ca™, AutoHebdo.net™, LesPac.com, AutoSync™, Dealertrack™ and Collateral Management Solutions™. AutoTrader.ca and AutoHebdo.net offer the largest inventory of new and used vehicles in Canada, receiving over 26 million monthly visits to over 450,000 vehicles listed by over 5,000 dealers. With over 2,500 subscribers and counting, AutoSync is the largest and fastest growing dealer and OEM software provider in Canada. The platform’s suite of connected automotive software solutions brings advertising, conversion and operational support together, synchronizing the entire retail process. The portfolio is rounded out by DealerTrack, the leader in Canadian automotive finance solutions, and Collateral Management Solutions, the primary provider of lien and registration services, recovery services, and insolvency management solutions to Canadian Lenders. 

For more information, please visit www.tradercorporation.com.

Media Contact
Jessica Huynh
Jessica.huynh@labourcreative.ca

SOURCE TRADER Corporation

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CIEBON Chooses Centric PLM to Streamline and Align Teams

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Fast-growing fashion company adopts Centric PLM to support rapid company expansion

CAMPBELL, Calif., Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Centric Software® is pleased to announce that CIEBON, the fashion company has selected Centric PLM™ to boost collaboration and speed to market. Centric Software provides retailers and brands the most innovative end-to-end product lifecycle enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products such as fashion, outdoor, luxury, footwear, home and related goods like cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

When we saw that first Centric PLM demo, it was pretty clear that’s what we were missing and what we needed to keep growing.

Based in Los Angeles, California, CIEBON was established in 2021. This contemporary womenswear brand seamlessly merges modern femininity with effortless chic, from dresses to sportswear. Showcased in seasonal collections, CIEBON stands out for its unexpected details and luxurious fabrics, offering a curated selection of statement pieces and elevated ready-to-wear designs. The brand’s collections are available in upscale boutiques, department stores and online.

Daniel Banaga, Creative Director at CIEBON describes how the growth of the business outpaced the growth of the team. Banaga described the tools they used when the company first started as ‘rudimentary’. “We had to learn all the technical know-how and how to do all the integrations with our ERP system. That took a lot of time away from building the business and focusing on the brand,” he explains. Implementing Centric PLM will allow for freedom of tedious tasks shifting focus to collection inspiration and design enabling overall growth of the business.

The brand is renowned for creating custom fabrics with vivid prints and in-house embroidery designs. Banaga explains, “We develop all our embroidery in-house and having a material library for base fabrics and artwork in our colorways will be an incredible asset. It allows us to revisit past designs and reinvent them in fresh, new ways—it’s truly a game changer. With these essentials organized in our PLM, creating new designs or updated versions of existing ones will be seamless and efficient.”

Founder and CEO Charlene Xie says, “I wanted things in a very particular way to offer unique, colorful pieces made with rich fabrics. We are grateful boutiques and retailers appreciated that and it is why we’ve grown so quickly.” It was this growth that propelled the company to look for a PLM solution.

CIEBON identified bottlenecks and misaligned communication as significant pain points. Banaga shares, “Fashion is so time sensitive that if you’re not organized and don’t have all your ducks in a row, you end up suffering the consequences at some point—immediately or down the road. Having a reliable source of information is critical. With our small team moving quickly, effective communication can be a challenge. We needed a centralized system to ensure accurate, up-to-date information and track changes and progress seamlessly. That level of visibility is critical for staying aligned and driving our work forward.” Banaga continues, “One of the main draws for us was the Centric vendor portal. With overseas suppliers, communication over email can get muddied. We needed the ability to see what’s happening on the vendor’s side and to track the progress and changes…Being able to communicate all the changes and all the comments, especially to our vendors—fabric mills and garment companies—is huge. There are numerous collaborations that need to happen. Every minute counts when it comes to what we’re doing. Being organized is key.”

CIEBON did the research and found Centric Software to be an expert in the PLM industry. Banaga says, “When we saw that first Centric PLM demo, it was pretty clear that’s what we were missing and what we needed to keep growing.”

President of Centric Software Fabrice Canonge says, “We are proud to welcome CIEBON, an exciting, emerging fashion brand, to the Centric Software community. They are poised for huge growth and Centric PLM is the perfect tool to enable that growth by organizing data, improving collaboration with vendors and speeding time to market, leaving them to focus on creativity and innovation.”

Learn more about Centric Software

See Centric AI-Powered Solutions in action at NRF 2025, Booth #6257

CIEBON (http://www.ciebon.com)

CIEBON is a Los Angeles based and Asian owned contemporary womenswear brand that blends modern femininity with effortless chic. Presented in seasonal collections, the brand features unexpected detailing and lush fabrics in a range of statement pieces and elevated ready-to-wear.

Media Contact

Aurore Evee, Centric Software, +16479155377, aurore.evee@centricsoftware.com, www.centricsoftware.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/ciebon-chooses-centric-plm-to-streamline-and-align-teams-302344594.html

SOURCE Centric Software

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Dreame Technology Stuns CES 2025 with Innovative Technologies Including Its Groundbreaking Bionic Multi-Joint Robotic Arm Technology and a Full Range of Products Such as the X50 Ultra

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LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The highly anticipated International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025) officially kicked off. Dreame Technology, a leading name in high-end consumer electronics and smart manufacturing, made a striking debut with the theme “All Dreams in One Dreame.” At CES 2025, the company unveiled its comprehensive ecosystem of advanced products, including robot vacuum, wet and dry vacuums, cordless stick vacuums, cordless robotic pool cleaners, and multifunctional hair drying and styling systems. With this impressive lineup, Dreame showcased its cutting-edge smart technologies, redefining the possibilities of innovative living for consumers worldwide.

Strengthen the Core Technology Barriers and Create a New Benchmark in the Robot Vacuum Industry

As a technology benchmark in the smart home appliance industry, Dreame Technology firmly believes that “core technology is the foundation of everything.”  Dreame Technology has continuously broken through and innovated, introducing many industry innovations such as Robotic Flex Arm, VersaLift, and Automatic mop removal technology.

Among them, the most noteworthy is Dreame Technology’s first robotic vacuum cleaner with an automatic arm capable of changing and using different cleaning tools. This design incorporates Dreame Technology’s first bionic multi-joint robotic arm technology and cleaning tool accessory compartment. The bionic multi-joint manipulator with four joints mimics a human hand, seamlessly integrating features similar to shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers. It stretches up to 30cm from the machine’s edge, effectively extending its cleaning reach. By being equipped with a self-developed structured light RGB module, the robotic arm can deeply perceive and detect the environment based on AI algorithms and return to the base station to change cleaning tools according to different scenarios and dirty needs to complete various cleaning tasks.

Another innovative Multi-Mop Replacement Dock adopts a new base station structure, which accommodates up to 3 sets of mopping cloths and supports the automatic replacement of mops at the base station. Users can customize different mops for specific areas based on personal preferences and household habits to achieve dedicated mop use in specific zones, thereby effectively avoiding the cross-use of mops in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, and other spaces, making it more hygienic and cleaner. Additionally, the system comprehensively upgrades the drying method, adopting a dual air duct design, which can dry 3 sets of mops simultaneously, making it more efficient and time-saving.

Revolutionary Multi-Category Innovations Lead the New Trend in Smart Home Appliances

In the smart cleaning category, the X50 Ultra robot vacuum was one of the most eye-catching products at the Dreame Technology booth, winning many awards, including the CES 2025 International Breakthrough Award. It is equipped with Dreame Technology’s world-first robotic retractable legs technology, which can achieve a maximum obstacle crossing height of 6cm*. At the same time, it also features VersaLift, Dual Flex Arm Technology, and other technologies, elevating the cleaning performance of sweeping robots to a new level.

H15 Pro Heat wet and dry vacuum equipped with Dreame Technology’s GapFree™ AI DescendReach Robotic Arm technology achieves no cleaning dead zones and no water residue. When the wet and dry vacuum senses an edge, the AI smart lifting robotic arm will adaptively press down and quickly stick to the edge to complete the corner cleaning.  Z30 Smart Sensor cordless stick vacuum supports the smart sensor dirt function. Dreame Technology’s self-developed 150,000RPM high-speed digital motor delivers peak suction power of 300AW and a runtime of up to 90 minutes.

For outdoor cleaning scenarios, Dreame Technology has launched the Z1 Pro cordless robotic pool cleaner, whose innovative PoolSense™ technology can intelligently recognize the shape of the pool, enabling optimized zoning and S-shaped cleaning routes to improve cleaning efficiency. Based on LiFi communication technology, users can use a remote control to communicate with the swimming pool robot underwater in real time, assign cleaning tasks, and easily complete various cleaning needs.

On the other side of the booth, the newly launched Airstyle Pro Multifunctional Hair Drying & Styling System also garnered considerable attention from visitors. It is a salon-grade styler that integrates seven functional accessories for blow-drying, curling, straightening, and more.

Dreame Technology’s full ecosystem debut at CES 2025 highlights its remarkable breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology.

About Dream Technology

Established in 2017, Dreame Technology is an innovative consumer product company that focuses on smart home cleaning appliances with the vision to empower lives through technology. Follow us on FacebookInstagramTikTok and Twitter.

For more information, visit https://www.dreametech.com/.

*6cm: The 6cm refers to the height of the two steps. A single obstacle is 4.5cm high, and a single climbing mat’s crossing height is 1.5cm. Based on our in-house lab testing, actual results may vary depending on environmental factors.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dreame-technology-stuns-ces-2025-with-innovative-technologies-including-its-groundbreaking-bionic-multi-joint-robotic-arm-technology-and-a-full-range-of-products-such-as-the-x50-ultra-302344352.html

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Lower Acquires Neat Labs, Launches LowerOS to Transform Digital Mortgage Experience

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Lower, a leading digital mortgage lender, today announced its acquisition of Neat Labs, a company renowned for its end-to-end mortgage origination software. Lower will integrate Neat Labs’ proprietary software into LowerOS, a comprehensive, cloud-based mortgage platform designed to deliver a world-class borrower experience and reduce the time and cost to produce a loan.

Founded in 2015, Neat Labs developed a cutting-edge platform that streamlines the mortgage process from pricing to loan approval and closing. Neat Labs originated over $1 billion in loans, taking borrowers from application to funding in as little as 10 days.

The introduction of LowerOS marks the beginning of a new era in mortgage technology, letting borrowers and loan officers collaborate like never before. Through LowerOS borrowers will have self-serve access to Neat Labs’ advanced underwriting engine letting consumers select the best loan product and payment plan they qualify for. LowerOS also automates many of the time-consuming tasks in the mortgage process, reducing the time and cost for borrowers to get a loan and giving Lower’s nationwide network of loan officers more time to spend guiding each client.

“We’re thrilled to bring Neat Labs into the Lower family. Their technology is the foundation of our next chapter,” said Dan Snyder, CEO and Co-Founder of Lower. “Since our inception, we’ve combined cutting-edge technology with an elite level of customer service. With LowerOS, we are once again revolutionizing the mortgage industry, offering unmatched operational efficiency and an intuitive, frictionless experience for both borrowers and loan officers.”

Steve Herschleb, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Neat Labs, will join Lower as the company’s new CTO. Herschleb, who has extensive experience in developing scalable mortgage technology systems and previously served as Chief Product Officer at Maxwell, will play a critical role in the development of LowerOS.

“LowerOS will change the way consumers think about getting a mortgage whether they are buying a new home, refinancing to reduce their monthly payments or tapping the equity in their home to consolidate debts or pay for a major life event like that overdue home remodel,” said Herschleb. “With LowerOS, borrowers can get approved significantly faster than they can today. It’ll make getting a mortgage feel more like a car loan or a credit card.”

With this acquisition and the introduction of LowerOS, Lower continues to redefine the mortgage experience by combining advanced technology with a focus on delivering exceptional value and efficiency.

About Lower
Founded in 2014, Lower is the 28th largest home lender in the country, and backed by Accel Partners, SoFi, and Veritex Bank. Lower operates a digital platform that meets customers both online through its website, and offline though its distributed retail branches. Committed to being the best lender for both originators, and consumers, Lower is redefining home finance one home at a time.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lower-acquires-neat-labs-launches-loweros-to-transform-digital-mortgage-experience-302344515.html

SOURCE Lower, LLC

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