Private equity firm buys auto retail ID check, remote notary provider Mavsign

Maverick Document Signings, which provides remote notary and identification verification services to auto dealerships, has been purchased by private equity firm 1876 Partners, deal adviser Colonnade Securities said Aug. 7.

Terms of the deal for the technology company, also known as Mavsign, were not disclosed.

"This acquisition represents a significant milestone in our growth strategy, allowing us to leverage our industry knowledge with Mavsign's expertise, technology, and established market presence," 1876 managing partner Robert Burnett said in a statement.

Colonnade, which served as Mavsign's exclusive adviser on the deal, called the company a "pioneer" in remote auto deals. Founded in 2007, Mavsign helps dealerships sell vehicles remotely with a network of thousands of notaries spanning all 50 states and ID check technology to catch fraudulent car buyers.

Mavsign has worked with more than 3,000 dealerships and handled more than 400,000 contracts, according to its website. The site lists major franchise groups including Asbury Automotive Group, AutoNation and Penske Automotive Group as partners.

"We are looking forward to working with this exciting team to continue Mavsign's ability to bring dealers current and exciting new services to protect, build profit, and enhance the customer experience," Thane Nyo, Mavsign vice president of sales, said in a statement.

He said the deal "gives Mavsign the ability to execute on our vision to bring more dealerships our industry-leading suite of document signing and fraud detection tools allowing our customers to facilitate more sales."

Nyo told Automotive News on Aug. 14 that Mavsign’s decision to sell was in part because some partners were looking to “ride off in the sunset.” But he also said there was a thought selling would be “more of a growth opportunity.”

Nineteen bidders sought to buy Mavsign, Nyo said.

He said Mavsign chose to sell to 1876 Partners even though it wasn’t the highest bidder because they perceived 1876 as the “best fit for Maverick.”

Mavsign President Val Balanescu said the company expects 1876’s support will allow it to expand its capabilities, and Nyo said 1876’s ties to Reynolds and Reynolds — Burnett and the other two 1876 co-founders are Reynolds alumni — would help Mavsign access more customers.

Mavsign was for sale while it was launching an upgraded version of its platform, Balanescu said. New features include e-signing, video calling between the finance manager and customer and speeding up the process of assigning notaries to car deals, he said.

“I cannot say it was an easy process just from the time standpoint” of handling both initiatives simultaneously, Balanescu said. But “with anything in technology, time to market is critical,” and Mavsign decided against delaying the new system, he said.

Balanescu said this proved to be a good decision because the 1876 team could “see the future of where this company is going and what we can accomplish with the new functionalities.”