Houlihan Lokey Advises Spectrum Automotive Holdings

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Spectrum Automotive Holdings (DBA Vanguard Dealer Services LLC), a portfolio company of Cornell Capital, has acquired CalTex Protective Coatings, Inc. The transaction closed on May 6, 2020.

Vanguard Dealer Services LLC provides consulting, training, and finance and insurance products and services to automotive dealerships. It offers finance and insurance products, such as vehicle service contracts, gap insurance, prepaid maintenance, vehicle loss and roadside assistance, accelerated equity payment plans, key replacement, paintless dent repair, excess wear and tear, vehicle service contract money-back guarantee, and credit insurance products; tire and wheel, vehicle theft, and environmental protection products; and web-based menu system solutions. The company also provides automobile dealer consulting services, including finance and insurance development, sales and sales management training and development, on-site training and coaching, motivational and directional compensation plans, dealer-owned reinsurance company formation, dealer incentive management, sales strategy and proficiency analysis, and compliance review and certification services. Vanguard was founded in 1999 and is based in Fairfield, New Jersey.

CalTex Protective Coatings, Inc., develops, manufactures, and distributes chemical products for the automotive aftermarket industry. CalTex offers exterior paint protection, interior fabric protection, interior vinyl and leather protection, and paintless dent repair products; theft protection products, including window etch and vehicle body labeling systems; undercoating and noise inhibitors; windshield protection products; and rust inhibitor and undercoating products. It serves the automotive sector, including cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers, and recreational vehicles, through its sales representatives and auto dealers in North America. CalTex, owned by its employees via an ESOP, was founded in 1983 and is based in Schertz, Texas.

Cornell Capital LLC is a $3 billion private investment firm founded in 2013 by Henry Cornell, the former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division. With offices in New York and Hong Kong, Cornell focuses on investments in the consumer, industrial/business services, and financial services sectors, often with a cross-border angle.

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive buyside advisor and assisted in evaluating and analyzing the combined Vanguard/CalTex business and its competitive position in the market as well as its attractiveness to buyers in a future potential sale. This transaction further strengthens Houlihan Lokey's leading position in the insurance and warranty sectors.