American Auto Auction Group has been acquired by Huron Capital Partners. Huron is a Detroit-based private equity investor that seeks to grow lower middle-market companies in partnership with management through customized buy-and-build strategies. AAAG is an entrepreneurial, leading auction provider with sites in South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, California, and Wisconsin as well as private label auctions across multiple markets. 

Peter Mogk, senior partner at Huron remarked that “Huron is very excited to partner with the AAAG family of auctions, their employees, and customers to continue building what we believe is the preeminent national auction group focused primarily on dealer to dealer sales. In the years to come, we intend to make a difference in the lives of people by investing in our team and the communities we serve. We know from experience that value-added customer service begins with equipping our people with the best facilities, training, and career opportunities.  We believe we have ample resources dedicated to build, grow, and acquire auctions that embrace technology and ever-changing customer needs.”

Cam Hitchcock will be the new CEO of AAAG. Hitchcock is an experienced industry veteran having recently served as the Executive Chairman of Primeritus Financial Services and Partner at Elysian Advisors.  Hitchcock has also served on the boards of two private equity-backed auction remarketing companies. Earlier, he was  President and CEO-Dealer Services Group and Corporate CFO of ADESA, Inc. The current AAAG President, Darris McClure, will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer and Bruce Reese will continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer.  Bill McIver will serve in a consulting role as he transitions from CEO to an active member of the Board of Directors.

Hitchcock remarked that “I am honored and excited to partner with Huron, Darris McClure and the AAAG senior management team.  Additionally, I’d like to thank Bill McIver for his key contributions to AAAG’s success and for his continued involvement with the company. We have closely watched the dealer sale market segment over the past 24 months and believe that there are significant opportunities to better serve dealer consignors in many U.S. markets.  Our objective is to provide AAAG’s customers with highly responsive, tailored service offerings across multiple geographies.  Huron has committed significant capital to enhance and scale this platform and we look forward to deploying it.”