Deloitte Corporate Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Itochu Corporation on the Management Buy-Out of I.C. Autohandel Beteiligungen GmbH

Deloitte Corporate Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Itochu Corporation – a leading Japanese trading conglomerate (“Itochu”), on the sale of its shares in a Management Buy-Out (“MBO”) of I.C. Autohandel Beteiligungen GmbH (“ICAB” or the “Company”) – a leading German car dealer group with six locations in major metropolitan areas. The transaction comprises the ICAB Holding as well as four wholly owned operating subsidiaries with locally renowned stores and well-known brands.

About the transaction

The Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory team (“Deloitte”) in Frankfurt, led by Claudius Thiell (Managing Director) supported by Tomokazu Ikezawa (Director), Knut von Ahlen (Associate) and Julia Hellgren (Associate), successfully advised Itochu on the MBO of ICAB. Deloitte’s in-depth knowledge and its commitment to first-class M&A advisory execution ensured a favourable and successful outcome for ICAB and Itochu.

Itochu is one of the largest Japanese trading conglomerates, engaged in domestic trading, import, export and overseas trading of various products. Itochu generated total sales of EUR 80.2bn in 2020/21 with more than 125,000 employees. Since starting its car dealer operations in Germany in 1990, to enable the distribution of Mazda and Suzuki vehicles in Germany, ICAB developed into a major German car dealer group through organic growth and acquisitions. Following a strategic portfolio review, Itochu decided to divest 100% of its interests in ICAB.

About ICAB

ICAB is a leading German car dealer group for the brands Mazda, Suzuki and Ford, operating from six locations in the Rhineland, Hamburg and Berlin. Founded in 1990 and being headquartered in Düsseldorf, ICAB developed to a leading car dealer group with a strong presence and market position in major metropolitan areas. Besides new and used car sales, ICAB provides after-sales and car rental services to private as well as fleet customers and offers car insurance and financing solutions from third party providers. The ICAB group comprises 4 subsidiaries and is operating under the store names Franz Pohl, Autohaus Meklenborg, Auto-Park Rath and Autohaus Kierdorf selling the brands Ford, Mazda and Suzuki. ICAB has more than 240 employees and generated sales of c. EUR 130m in FY2020/21.

About Deloitte – Corporate Finance Advisory

As leading independent M&A advisors, we provide M&A deal execution and financial advisory services to large and mid-market corporations as well as to private equity firms globally. We offer financial advice and insight at every stage of a transaction – from consideration of strategic options to transaction execution, be it an IPO, acquisition or divestment, restructuring or fast track disposal. We pride ourselves in our independent advice to our clients.

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