LONDON, UK: Halfords Group, the UK’s leading provider of Motoring and Cycling products and services, has reached an agreement for the sale of a 5% minority stake in its Avayler business, Avayler Trading Limited, to Bridgestone Americas Inc., a leading global mobility company, and has also agreed the terms of a master commercial agreement with Bridgestone to establish their business as an ongoing client of Avayler.
Bridgestone will acquire a 5% stake in Avayler for consideration of USD 3 million, which will be satisfied in cash.
Avayler is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Halfords and provides automotive “software as a service” to the Group, as well as to other global mobility clients.
The proceeds of the Transaction will be used for general corporate purposes, including to support the continued growth of Avayler.
The Transaction establishes Bridgestone as a client of the Avayler business, becoming the latest global mobility client to use the Avayler platform.
Avayler was launched in July 2021, having been developed in-house by Halfords to manage services across garages, mobile vans and retail stores. It is a “software as a service” (SaaS) provider for automotive companies that operate in multiple locations. Avayler helps automotive businesses digitalise their service, from online customer booking through to invoicing.
Avayler’s first customer was American Tire Distributors Inc., one of the largest independent distributors of tyres to the replacement tyre market in North America. Since then, Avayler has won several significant contracts with operators around the globe, including Tirebuyer in the USA and Mobivia in Central Europe.
Graham Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer of Halfords, commented: “Since its launch a little over two years ago, Avayler has been chosen by some of the largest automotive businesses in the world who have immediately realised the compelling value that it can add to their operations. Today’s investment from Bridgestone, one of the world’s largest mobility companies with over 3,000 garages and vans under its world-wide operation, is another fantastic endorsement for the platform, and the length and scope of the agreement fuels our confidence in Avayler’s long-term potential as we continue to roll it out to more clients around the world.”
Avayler had gross assets as at 31st March 2023 of £3,054,618, and generated a loss of £74,662 in the financial year ending March 2023.
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