Toronto, Ontario — The Automotive Training Institute (ATI), a coaching and consulting company for collision and mechanical repairers, has been acquired by Driven Brands, according to an email ATI sent to its vendors on Tuesday.
ATI president Richard Menneg issued an email statement to ATI’s vendors on Tuesday, assuring that the current management team will remain in place, including himself as president and founder Chris Frederick as CEO. He said that no layoffs are planned among the company’s 141 associates.
“ATI’s lifelong focus has always been to help our members realize their profits and dreams with the best coaching and training available,” reads the email. “But for years we have also believed that in order to take ATI to our next level we needed and wanted help. Our choices were to partner with either a strategic company that could leverage what we have accomplished in consulting and training or a private equity firm that could infuse capital to help us grow organically.”
ATI coaches more than 1,627 American and Canadian members in the collision and mechanical repair sectors, according to the institute’s website. It says it has produced more than $1.78 billion in additional gross profit combined or customer shops and has helped collision estimators improve repair orders by an average of $650.
Driven Brands is the parent company of several automotive aftermarket brands—including Maaco and CARSTAR. Since affiliates of Roark Capital acquired the company in 2015, it has executed more than 30 acquisitions, including ATI.
“With Driven Brands as our new partner, ATI is positioned for unbelievable growth,” said Menneg. “We see this as a significant opportunity which provides ATI with resources, global buying power and industry reach, positioning us to even better serve our members and preferred suppliers.”
