MSX International acquires Australian company, expands global reach

MSX International has acquired Australia-based Sewells Group, creating what the companies say will be the largest global provider of business process and training services to automotive dealerships.

Terms of the deal, which closed last week, were not released. The company announced the deal in a statement today.

Sewells, which operates in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Asian markets, will operate as a subsidiary of MSX, retaining its 500 employees.

It will add $50 million in revenue to MSX's $600 million in annual revenue, MSX CEO Fred Minturn said.

As a result of the deal, MSX will have 6,000 employees and operations in 80 countries.

Automakers are looking to contract with suppliers that can serve their needs worldwide, Minturn said.

"Together with our strong operations in North America and Europe, Sewells Group provides us with diversified and truly international opportunities to enhance value creation for our combined customer base," he said in a statement.

Currently, MSX is based in Detroit and operates in the U.S., United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Australia and China.

The addition of Sewells will increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East regions and its business with automakers there, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Volkswagen AG, Minturn said.

Sewells, which Minturn said has a strong management team, has been in those regions a lot longer and is very mature there, he said.

Together, MSX and Sewells will offer complementary services for customers, Minturn said.

Automakers contract MSX to improve automotive dealer performance through business process outsourcing and training in the service and parts areas.

Sewells also offers business management and operational efficiency services, but its dealership training is in sales and marketing. And it provides business intelligence data analytics to help dealerships better run their business, Minturn said, noting that's an area MSX has been wanting to enter. The two companies will now have cross-selling opportunities with customers, he said.

Automakers "are always looking to minimize the number of suppliers they have to deal with," Minturn said. "This gives them one-stop shopping for all of their retail network needs."