Retail know-how large Reynolds and Reynolds Co. on Friday acquired Proton Dealership IT, which affords dealerships cybersecurity and knowledge know-how services and products.
Reynolds, a Dayton, Ohio-based dealership administration system supplier, didn’t disclose a transaction value. Leaders of the 2 corporations stated they started talking a few potential acquisition in March.
Reynolds’ deal to purchase Proton comes as its dealership clients weigh how one can adjust to amended cybersecurity and IT steering the Federal Commerce Fee handed down in October. The FTC has set a Dec. 9 compliance deadline for dealerships to undertake its Safeguards Rule amendments. That weighed into the choice to step up companies in that space, Reynolds President Chris Walsh stated.
“It turned evident that our clients are asking about these items they usually’re actually making an attempt to determine it out,” Walsh stated. “They’re making an attempt to make it possible for they’re compliant and that they are protected, and that is after we simply noticed a have to get into an space that we have by no means actually gotten into.”
Proton, based mostly in Raleigh, N.C., and based in 2014, affords dealerships a slate of cybersecurity instruments, corresponding to outsourced IT departments, safety operations facilities, distant assist desks and on-site assist groups.
Founder Brad Holton is the only real proprietor, and he stated he intends to proceed to steer Proton for the long run beneath the Reynolds umbrella.
Proton has about 600 dealership shoppers, 98 p.c of that are franchised, Holton stated. Walsh stated there’s numerous room to develop Proton’s services and products throughout the Reynolds buyer base, perhaps even to “one hundred pc” of it. Reynolds would not disclose the variety of its dealership clients.
This yr, Walsh stated Reynolds would step up its acquisition exercise and construct out its product portfolio.
Proton is the corporate’s second acquisition since these remarks. Earlier in July, Reynolds acquired Motility Software program, which sells dealership administration software program to powersports and different specialty shops.
Some may take into account the Proton acquisition to be on the smaller finish of Reynolds’ deal-making when contemplating Proton’s worker depend and years out there, Walsh stated.
However “should you take a look at it from the attitude of … how we are able to develop our choices and the way we can assist our clients be rather more safe, I believe it is one of the vital acquisitions that we have made shortly.”
And Proton is rising quick. Its consumer base has elevated 25 p.c up to now this yr, Holton stated. It has 125 staff and can rent one other 100 to 150 individuals within the subsequent 12 months. As a result of demand is so prevalent, the corporate is averaging three hires every week proper now, he stated.