June 25, 2018—Australia’s top collision repair chain told investors late last week that it had called off plans to sell its collision business to Service King’s parent company, Blackstone. Had it gone through, the deal would’ve been worth $508 million.
As it turns out, the deputy commission of taxation wouldn’t grant the “Ruling for Demerger Relief” sought by the AMA Group.
The AMA Group had planned to sell Blackstone its collision-repair shops and keep its automotive component, accessory and procurement business. AMA has told Blackstone that it won’t split the company and will now decline to sell.
The news occurred approximately one year after Blackstone and Carlyle were reportedly interested in selling Service King for as much as $2 billion in U.S. dollars.