May 21, 2021 – FOCUS Advisors is proud to announce the sale of its client, Able Body Shop, to Classic Collision of Atlanta, GA. Able operates 3 large, well-equipped shops in and around Anchorage AK. All locations will operate under the Classic Collision brand.
This acquisition marks Classic Collision’s first acquisition into the Northwest market. Classic now operates 74 shops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, California and now, Alaska. CEO Toan Nguyen, stated “Able Auto Body and Ryan Cropper are great additions to the Classic Collision family. Adding shops and management talent of this quality continue to accelerate our growth and broaden our geographic reach.”
David Roberts, Managing Director of Focus Advisors who led the transaction, observed that the Able acquisition by Classic represents their first expansion beyond the lower 48 states. “This acquisition shows how large organizations gain confidence in growing over geographically larger distances. The demonstrated quality of Able’s operations and management in its market reduced the risks to Classic.”
Able Body Shop was started in 2002 by Ryan Cropper with the purchase of a shop in downtown Anchorage. Expansion followed with subsequent openings of two much larger shops over the next 18 years as Anchorage and Able continued to grow. Recognized in the industry as a superior operator with an effective flat management culture, Ryan will continue operate and expand operations as Classic as it builds out the Alaska market.
Ryan Cropper commented “The growth and development of my shops was an incredibly rewarding experience. Deciding to sell wasn’t easy but I could see the direction the industry was moving and knew more capital, more scale and being part of a larger organization was the future. And Classic is a great fit for the team at Able and for myself.”
Describing the process of deciding to sell and then executing on that decision, Ryan noted, “I consider myself a pro in collision repair. I had been approached many times over the years about selling but I knew I wasn’t an M&A professional. Having seen the success of Focus in representing some of my industry friends, I reached out to Dave Roberts and Chris Lane at Focus. They did a great job, working for nearly six months to set us up for a successful sale. We had multiple parties interested and I’m sure we chose the right partner to continue our growth.”
About FOCUS Advisors:
FOCUS Advisors (focusadvisors.com) is a full-service FINRA-registered M&A advisory firm serving collision industry entrepreneurs looking for advice about growth and sale options, representing them in raising capital or selling their businesses. Managing Director, David Roberts has been the industry’s leading advisor to MSOs and single shops with more than 25 industry transactions in the last 6 years including recent sales of large MSOs such as Pride Auto Body, Fix Auto USA, Fix ACAB, Price’s Collision in Nashville and Herb’s Body and Paint in Dallas. Able Body Shop is Focus Advisors’ 6th collision repair MSO sale during COVID.
Investment Banking Services and Securities offered through Independent Investment Bankers Corp. a broker-dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. FOCUS Advisors is not affiliated with Independent Investment Bankers Corp.
