Chicago, IL and Annapolis, MD, June 22, 2021 – Crash Champions (“Crash” or the “Company”), a leading independent collision repair company, announced today that the Company has entered into an agreement with Signature Collision Centers (“Signature”), one of the largest family owned, independent collision repair companies on the East Coast, by which Signature will join the Crash platform through a strategic transaction. The newly combined company will operate under the Crash name and banner, creating a nation-wide platform with 118 locations strategically located across 12 states and Washington, DC.
Headquartered in Annapolis (MD), Signature operates 24 high-performing locations across states throughout the greater Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and Washington, DC. Following the transaction, Signature founder and CEO Charles (Chuck) Pipkin will retain an ownership stake in Crash and transition to a new role as an Executive Board Member with the Company, where he will work closely with Crash Champions founder and CEO Matt Ebert to continue growing the business at the national level.
"This partnership represents a collaboration between two of the leading names in the U.S. collision repair industry,” said Ebert. “Our growth strategy is rooted in identifying the right shops and owners who can be true partners and stewards of the Crash brand. This means not only creating near-term value when they join the Company through a transaction, but creating long-term value through continued contributions as members of our leadership and ownership teams. Chuck and his team are the ideal partners, and we’re excited to welcome them to the Crash family and extend our brand to the East Coast.”
“This is a monumental moment for Signature, one that we’ve been working towards for a long time,” said Pipkin. “Since our founding in 2004, we have been committed to building this business with a very specific vision and set of values. As we looked to the future, it became clear that we needed to join forces with like-minded individuals in order to take our business to the next level and achieve the full value of our platform. Our search for that partner started and ended with Crash Champions, which not only has the team and resources to accelerate our growth, but shares the same operational ethos and commitment to excellence. This is the next logical step for our business, an exciting new chapter, and an ideal opportunity to continue building our legacy under a new powerful name and brand.”
This transaction represents the 42nd successful transaction that the Company has completed since July 2019. Through these transactions, Crash has transformed itself from a regional player operating eight locations in the greater-Chicago area, to one of the fastest growing collision repair companies in America, with what will be 118 locations across 12 states (California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin – and Washington, DC), at the closing of this transaction.
“We have enjoyed significant growth over the last two years by carefully planning and executing a national M&A strategy, including identifying the right targets, partnering with talented management teams, and properly integrating each operation into our platform,” added Ebert. “Our pipeline for quality M&A remains strong, the Crash brand still has significant room to grow, and we look forward to continuing our marketplace expansion.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.