Houlihan Lokey Advises AUL Corp

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that AUL Corp., a portfolio company of Brookside Equity Partners, has been acquired by Protective Life Corp. (Protective), a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750), in a transformative transaction for the automotive finance and insurance (F&I) sector. The transaction closed on May 2, 2022.

AUL, a pioneer of the F&I industry, founded the used car service contract business with the introduction of the still-famous “Any Year, Any Mileage®” vehicle service contract in 1990. AUL has since expanded to offer a full suite of F&I products across all channels, with the mission of being the premier F&I provider in America. Since inception, AUL has sold over 3 million contracts through its industry-leading network of agent and dealer clients who distribute AUL’s product offering, which includes extended warranties, vehicle service contracts, guaranteed asset protection insurance, and a suite of ancillary products.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Protective is an industry-leading, full-service insurance provider with a history going back 115 years. Through its subsidiaries, Protective offers life insurance, annuity, and asset protection solutions, helping more than 12 million people protect what matters most. This acquisition is a strong complement to Protective’s Asset Protection Division that offers, among others, extended service contracts, guaranteed asset protection, and ancillary products to protect consumers’ investments in automobiles, recreational vehicles, watercraft, and powersports vehicles. In addition, Protective’s Asset Protection Division offers a robust portfolio of dealer participation programs, training, and technology solutions through a network of general agents as well as a direct sales force.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to AUL and assisted in initiating, marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on its behalf.

This transaction highlights Houlihan Lokey’s deep focus on repeat client relationships and further strengthens its position as a leading advisor in the automotive F&I industry, having previously sold AUL to Brookside Equity Partners in 2017. Other recent relevant Houlihan Lokey transactions include Revolos’ sale to Protective Life; National Automotive Expert’s sale to Portfolio Holding, Inc.; Vehicle Administrative Services’ sale to Brown & Brown, Inc.; American Financial and Automotive Services’ sale to Assurant, Inc.; and Portfolio Holding, Inc.’s sale to Abry Partners, among many others.