The Simpar group's company debuts on B3 with a business model that worked in the US, but is still widespread in the country
É as if it were an IPObut a little differently. Perhaps that's the best way to explain the premiere of Automob, the group's car dealership company Simparat B3 next Monday (16), even though the market has not issued a new listing for three years.
To understand the business better: the Let's goVamos, a sister company that has been listed since 2021, will become two listed companies: one for machine rental and the other for machine dealerships. The rental arm will continue to be called Vamos. The dealership arm, on the other hand, will join the dealer network of holdingAutomob. And it's Automob that will make its debut on B3 next Monday.
The company controlled by the entrepreneur Fernando Simões comes to the stock exchange with a proposal that is still little known in the country, but very strong abroad: the consolidation of used-vehicle stores. In Brazil, more than 14 million used vehicles are sold every year - for this year, the sector's forecast is for a record 15.5 million vehicles sold, which would represent annual growth of 7.3%. O ticket The average vehicle costs around R$ 80 thousand.
"It's going to be a process of teaching the market, of bringing investors closer together to explain what our business model is," says Antônio Barreto Junior, Automob's CEO. The advantage, he points out, is that the company will enter the stock market with a good number of foreign shareholders in its base, who are already used to seeing similar movements abroad.
"The United States and England are markets that have been ahead of us for a few years with this consolidation and with many listed companies," Barreto continues, recalling companies such as Group 1, AutoNation e Lithiawhich are already worth several billion dollars in the New York Stock Exchange (Nyse).
At a time when Central Bank accelerates interest rate hikes againHowever, Automob's CEO still sees opportunities for the sector despite monetary tightening. "High interest rates aren't good for anyone, and our business needs credit a lot. The good thing is that banks are confident in offering credit for the purchase of used vehicles, and it's a niche with low default rates," he says.
Big premiere
Automob will make its B3 debut with a annual turnover of R$ 13 billion and a network of 200 stores, selling everything from luxury brands such as BMW and Jaguar to popular cars - and now also machinery, which is what made the company's listing possible.
At Vamos, the dealership business was not delivering the expected results and became a detractor on the company's balance sheet. This led Simpar to decide to separate its heavy vehicle leasing and sales activities in order to take advantage of Automob's specialty in the sale of used vehicles. Another bet is to increase revenue by selling after-sales services.
"The dealership business within Vamos has suffered a lot from the agribusiness crisis and this has become a major problem within Vamos. As for our business, we can act in a more agile way. They are different products, but the operations are very similar."
Read the full story at: Automob takes its bet on used car dealerships to the stock exchange | InvestNews