Ritchie Bros. Mails Definitive Proxy Statement and Letter to Shareholders
Ritchie Bros. has announced a Special Meeting of Shareholders on March 14, 2023, to vote on the acquisition of IAA, which is expected to create substantial value, potentially adding up to $76 per share. CEO Ann Fandozzi highlighted the support from key shareholders, including a $500 million investment from Starboard Value LP. The acquisition aims to accelerate Ritchie Bros.' transformation into a global marketplace and enhance growth opportunities. The integration of IAA's yard footprint is anticipated to lower costs and improve returns. The amended agreement with IAA reflects shareholder feedback, ensuring greater value for Ritchie Bros. shareholders.
- Potential incremental value of up to $76 per RBA share from the IAA acquisition.
- Support from major shareholders, with increased investments in Ritchie Bros.
- Expected cost savings of $100 million to $120 million by the end of 2025.
- Anticipated revenue growth opportunities of $250 million to $780 million.
- Ritchie Bros. to leverage IAA's underutilized yards, expected to generate higher ROI.
- None.
IAA Acquisition Accelerates Ritchie Bros.' Standalone Strategy and Drives Incremental Value of Up to
IAA's Existing Yards Present Opportunity to Immediately Address
Amended Agreement with IAA Delivers Even Greater Value for
Visit www.RBASpecialMeeting.com for More Information
We thank our shareholders for their support. We look forward to closing the transaction and continuing to execute on our transformation strategy."
As part of the proxy materials, Ritchie Bros. is mailing a letter to shareholders, which can be found at www.RBASpecialMeeting.com along with other materials related to the Special Meeting, including a new video featuring
Full text of the letter follows:
This is an exciting time. On
In fact, the value we see with this transaction substantially exceeds our standalone plan – potentially driving incremental value from cost synergies and revenue opportunities of up to
Your vote is important to ensuring this value can be realized. The Ritchie Bros. Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Ritchie Bros. shareholders vote "FOR" on the WHITE proxy card for each of the proposals that are being considered at the Special Meeting.
OUR TEAM'S EXECUTION HAS TRANSFORMED RITCHIE BROS. AND IS CREATING SIGNIFICANT, SUSTAINABLE SHAREHOLDER VALUE
When I was appointed CEO in 2020, Ritchie Bros. had solid core assets and talented employees, but its business was stagnant. Since then, we have recruited new leaders, and through organic initiatives, partnerships and strategic acquisitions, we have taken bold steps to redefine our operating model and reinvigorate profitable growth.
As a result, we have transformed Ritchie Bros. from a traditional auction business to a trusted global marketplace for value-added insights, services and transaction solutions. We now operate across seven verticals, have launched new go-to-market models and have a steadily growing number of yards. All of these differentiators work in tandem to strategically increase customer demand, creating a flywheel of growth and profitability.
Our success is evident in our outstanding performance, even in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In just three yearsii, we have achieved:
in Gross Transaction Value (GTV) growthiii$800 million - Record 10-year highs in revenue growth, a double-digit increase
- Double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth from
to$315 million iv$442 million - ~300 bps adjusted EBITDA margin expansion
WE KNOW THE SALVAGE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY WELL, AND THE IAA ACQUISITION IS AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO ACCELERATE OUR MOMENTUM
Over the course of our careers, the Ritchie Bros.' revamped management team has acquired and integrated numerous companies, many of scale. We have deep industry experience that we can leverage to successfully integrate IAA and accelerate growth. Previously, our leadership team has held executive and operating leadership positions at Abra,
The Ritchie Bros. Board and management team, with input from our advisors, identified IAA as a potential combination for Ritchie Bros. back in mid-2020, and evaluated a possible acquisition of IAA for more than 12 months. The strategic logic of this combination is clear. With IAA, we expand our reach into an attractive, adjacent vertical with a growing business and, by adding our services and operating expertise, we can unlock IAA's full potential.
- The salvage vehicle market has strong secular tailwinds. The number of registered vehicles on the road and the average vehicle age have increased
14% v and7% vi, respectively, since 2013. These factors combined with rising accident rates have resulted in secular growth in automotive salvage volumes. These growth trends are expected to continue. - IAA is a leading player in this attractive market and has shown counter-cyclicality and resilience through economic cycles. IAA has grown revenue each year since 2000vii including during the 2007 to 2009 downturn.
- IAA has an expansive yard footprint that complements Ritchie Bros.' with ~
45% available capacity. IAA's 210 facilities are located in close proximity to Ritchie Bros. customers throughoutthe United States ,Canada and theUnited Kingdom and include a developed network automated by technology. - IAA's positive performance is continuing. For fiscal 2022, IAA previously stated that it expects revenue, net income and adjusted EBITDA that are in-line with or above FactSet mean consensus analyst estimates as of
February 10, 2023 .
IAA WILL CATAPULT RITCHIE BROS.' STANDALONE YARD STRATEGY TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL, RESULTING IN HIGHER ROI, HIGHER GROWTH AND HIGHER SHAREHOLDER RETURNS
We believe commercial asset markets are on the cusp of substantial growth. Equipment supply could increase meaningfully in the coming quarters as the economic cycle turns. To capitalize on this shift, having access to a robust network of satellite yards is critical. Ritchie Bros. has been investing in small satellite yards close to population centers, but organic satellite yard expansion is time consuming given the scouting, negotiation and activation processes required.
IAA's existing yards present the opportunity to immediately address our need for capacity and at a lower cost with much higher returns.
- IAA yards are ideally located: IAA's yards are located close to population centers where Ritchie Bros. needs them most. Ritchie Bros. will be able to utilize a significant number of IAA's current locations as satellite yards.
- IAA has excess capacity that Ritchie Bros. can use: IAA has 210 yards with approximately 10,000 acres of capacityviii. These yards are underutilized. Overall utilization across IAA's yards is
55% . Roughly75% of IAA yards have more than five acres of availability. Ritchie Bros. can use this capacity to serve the expected rising heavy equipment demand without hurting service levels in the core IAA business. - IAA's yards are expected to unlock significantly higher returns for Ritchie Bros.: Leveraging IAA yards virtually eliminates the start-up time associated with standing up new yards, and minimizes incremental cost because they are already staffed. Indeed, because the incremental costs are so low, and each of the existing IAA yards are already profitable, we can easily overcome the financial hurdles associated with expanding our existing satellite yard strategy. Every Ritchie Bros. unit that comes to these IAA locations would result in incremental margin and therefore should be highly accretive.
In addition, using IAA's yards' open capacity should yield significantly higher ROI. By definition, standing up dedicated yards on our own requires incremental costs, but more than that, cold start locations require time to gather critical seller mass, which leads to suboptimal financial performance. Our volume changes the economics of the IAA yards – for the better.
In short, our yard strategy is critical to our future growth. And acquiring IAA is critical to our yard strategy. With IAA, we will accelerate our yard footprint expansion at lower cost with strong returns – both turbocharging our biggest strategic initiative and acquiring a very good business at a good value.
THE IAA TRANSACTION CREATES COMPELLING FINANCIAL BENEFITS AND SIGNIFICANT VALUE FOR OUR SHAREHOLDERS
As a powerful accelerant to our marketplace strategy, we believe the IAA transaction will be highly accretive to our company. In particular, we expect:
- Sizeable EBITDA opportunityix:
~ to$350 million opportunity, or up to$900 million ~ per share including cost savings and total revenue opportunitiesx$61 - Highly realizable cost savings: At least
to$100 million , or$120 million ~ per share, of cost savings by the end of 2025xi$8 - Revenue growth opportunities:
~ to$250 million of incremental EBITDA from potential revenue opportunities$780 million - Potential valuation upsideix: Up to
of additional value upside per share from cost synergies and revenue opportunities, reflecting an illustrative re-rating from 13x to 16x EV / NTM EBITDA multiple. Ritchie Bros. traded at a 16x multiple prior to announcing the transaction, and 16x is the historic blended multiple for Ritchie Bros./IAA$15 - Clear path to deleverage and advance our capital allocation strategy: Strong free cash flow, providing financial flexibility to continue investing in the business and enabling rapid deleveraging to a targeted leverage ratioxii of 2.0x within 24 months. We believe this could support further multiple expansion and as target leverage ratios are met, we are committed to returning capital to shareholders
Actionable and thorough integration planning has already begun. We have established an integration management office (IMO) comprised of dedicated, experienced operators and leaders to ensure this integration plan is executed seamlessly. The IMO will be supported by a leading third-party consultant and overseen by a steering committee that will have clear charters, milestones and KPIs to drive accountability. Work will be focused on critical success factors, including ensuring continued strong business performance and delivering on cost synergies and revenue opportunities.
OUR AMENDED AGREEMENT WITH IAA AS WELL AS THE TRANSACTION WITH STARBOARD REFLECT SHAREHOLDER FEEDBACK AND DELIVER EVEN GREATER VALUE
We have engaged extensively with our shareholders about the IAA transaction, and increasingly they understand its merits and have become excited about the potential of the combination. This is evidenced by Ritchie Bros.' meaningful stock price improvement from observed lows since the transaction was announced in November. Through our dialogue with shareholders, it also became clear that both Ritchie Bros. and IAA shareholders preferred – for differing reasons – a change to the consideration mix and transaction structure. On
The amended agreement and the additionally announced
- Ritchie Bros. shareholders receive approximately
xiii of additional value through:$115 million - A
xiii reduction in the price paid per IAA share, or approximately$0.52 in the aggregate$70 million - The receipt of a
special cash dividend paid only to Ritchie Bros. shareholders, or approximately$1.08 in the aggregatexiv. Because IAA shareholders will not receive the special dividend, this equates to approximately$120 million less consideration to IAA shareholders based on their share of the pro-forma company$45 million - As part of the amended agreement, the overall equity component of the IAA transaction is reduced, thereby reducing the dilution for Ritchie Bros. shareholders.
- The pro forma leverage profile of the combined business will be maintained despite the increased cash consideration for IAA shareholders.
- Ritchie Bros. shareholders will have greater pro forma ownership of the combined company and thereby benefit even more from the strategic and financial upside created by the transaction.
In addition, we gained a new partner and board member –
AT RITCHIE BROS., WE DELIVER ON THE COMMITMENTS WE MAKE
This management team has delivered on the promises we have made. You can count on us to continue to do so going forward. We are excited to close this transaction and continue to execute on our transformation strategy.
We urge you to vote "FOR" all proposals listed on the WHITE proxy card.
I greatly appreciate the support you have extended to me since being appointed CEO and look forward to building on the magnificent business we have created.
Sincerely,
/s/
CEO
Any shareholder with questions about the Special Meeting or in | |
North American Toll Free: 1-877-452-7184 | North American Toll Free: 1-800-322-2885 |
Email: proxy@mackenziepartners.com | |
Email: assistance@laurelhill.com | |
Eligible shareholders may also be able to cast their vote conveniently, quickly and directly over the | |
Information about the meeting is also available at www.RBASpecialMeeting.com |
About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include:
Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.
This communication contains information relating to a proposed business combination transaction between
It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of the combined companies or the price of RBA's common shares or IAA's common stock. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. While RBA's and IAA's management believe the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the parties' control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the possibility that shareholders of RBA may not approve the issuance of new common shares of RBA in the transaction or that stockholders of IAA may not approve the adoption of the merger agreement; the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed IAA transaction may not be satisfied (or waived), that either party may terminate the merger agreement or that the closing of the proposed IAA transaction might be delayed or not occur at all; the anticipated tax treatment of the proposed IAA transaction; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed IAA transaction; the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the response of competitors to the proposed IAA transaction; the ultimate difficulty, timing, cost and results of integrating the operations of RBA and IAA; the effects of the business combination of RBA and IAA, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; the failure (or delay) to receive the required regulatory approval of the transaction; the fact that operating costs and business disruption may be greater than expected following the public announcement or consummation of the proposed IAA transaction; the effect of the announcement, pendency or consummation of the proposed IAA transaction on the trading price of RBA's common shares or IAA's common stock; the ability of RBA and/or IAA to retain and hire key personnel and employees; the significant costs associated with the proposed IAA transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings that could be instituted against RBA, IAA and/or others relating to the proposed IAA transaction; restrictions during the pendency of the proposed IAA transaction that may impact the ability of RBA and/or IAA to pursue non-ordinary course transactions, including certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the ability of the combined company to realize anticipated synergies in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the combined company to realize potential revenue, growth, operational enhancement, expansion or other value creation opportunities from the sources or in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the trading multiple of the combined company to normalize or re-rate and other fluctuations in such trading multiple; changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to finance operations in the manner expected or to de-lever in the timeframe expected; the failure of RBA or the combined company to meet financial and/or KPI targets; any legal impediment to the payment of the special dividend by RBA, including TSX consent to the dividend record date; legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting the business of RBA and IAA; general economic and market developments and conditions; the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which RBA and IAA operates; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, pandemics, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as RBA's or IAA's response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed IAA transaction, are included in the Registration Statement (as defined below) and joint proxy statement/prospectus filed with the
For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to RBA's and IAA's respective periodic reports and other filings with the
This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the
In connection with the proposed IAA transaction, RBA filed with the
Investors and security holders may obtain copies of these documents (when they are available) free of charge through the website maintained by the
RBA and IAA, certain of their respective directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees, and
Ritchie Bros. Contacts
Investors
(510) 381-7584
srathod@ritchiebros.com
Media
(212) 355-4449
__________________________________________ |
ii The period from |
iii GTV represents gross transaction value, which is the total proceeds from all items sold at the company's auctions and online marketplaces. GTV is not a measure of financial performance, liquidity, or revenue, and is not presented in the company's consolidated financial statements |
iv Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back depreciation and amortization, interest expense, income tax expense, and subtracting interest income from net income, as well as adding back share-based payments expense, acquisition-related costs, loss (gain) on disposition of property, plant and equipment, terminated and ongoing transaction costs, and excluding the effects of any non-recurring or unusual adjusting items |
v Source: BTS, Experian as of Q3 2022 |
vi Source: BTS, HIS Markit as of |
vii Except 2020 |
viii Capacity does not include acreage under option contracts |
ix Potential opportunities and related information included for illustrative purposes only and do not imply future targets, expectations or guidance. Estimates do not incorporate potential costs to achieve or specific timeframes. Figures are illustrative and un-discounted |
x Reflects illustrative EV / NTM EBITDA range, based on pre-transaction blend at the low end and illustrative ~3.0x re-rating at the high end, informed by observed blend of top decile observed EV / NTM EBITDA multiples for RBA and IAA over last twelve month period ending |
xi Reflects midpoint of range of estimated run-rate cost synergies ( |
xii Assumes |
xiii Offer Values calculated based on RBA closing price of |
xiv Special dividend of |
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ritchie-bros-mails-definitive-proxy-statement-and-letter-to-shareholders-301744990.html
SOURCE