Edmonton-based automotive dealership owner and operator AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) has launched a strategic review to explore the potential sale of its collision operations.

The company announced this morning the formation of a special committee to evaluate strategic alternatives for the collision segment, including but not limited to a potential separation and sale.

The collision operations segment is operated under the ACX brand with 38 total locations. 

"AutoCanada's collision operations has reached a scale that provides a strong foundation for continued organic growth and acquisitions," AutoCanada CEO Samuel Cochrane said in the announcement. 

"With a substantial pipeline of opportunities ahead, we are exploring how to best unlock embedded value for AutoCanada shareholders and position the collision operations to accelerate growth."

The collision centres

AutoCanada has 34 collision centres located across seven provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia - servicing 37 vehicle brands.

The heaviest concentration of collision centre locations is in Ontario with 12 assets, four of which are in the GTA.

In addition, AutoCanada has three hail repair centres, called DCC Hail, located in Calgary, Winnipeg and Saskatoon, and one dedicated diagnostics and coatings centre in Edmonton.

"The board believes the value and growth potential of the company's collision operations may not be fully reflected in AutoCanada's current public market valuation," the company said in the announcement.

AutoCanada has not set a definitive timetable for the completion of the strategic review and said it would make no further public announcements or disclosures regarding the process until the board of directors approves a specific transaction or determines the process is complete.

Expansion and portfolio monetization

Prior to the announcement of the strategic review, AutoCanada was actively expanding its collision centre portfolio. Earlier this month, the company announced it had acquired Doug's Place Southgate in Edmonton, adding approximately 7,540 square feet of collision-repair capacity. 

In July, AutoCanada acquired a 20,000-square-foot repair centre in Stratford, Ont., which followed two acquisitions in June: Mascarin Collision Centre in Thunder Bay and Contemporary Coachworks in Calgary, its first luxury repair platform.

The company has also been divesting non-core assets over the summer and exiting its U.S. dealership business.

In its Q2 financial report, AutoCanada said it was making "meaningful progress" on the U.S. divestiture, with sales in the quarter earning roughly $106 million in gross proceeds from the sale of three Illinois storefronts.

"The company has entered into a definitive agreement for the remaining 9 dealerships (2 individual storefronts)," AutoCanada said in the report. "The company expects additional proceeds from related land dispositions, previously identified as held for sale, of up to $19 million."

And in July, AutoCanada sold three non-core assets in British Columbia: Island Chevrolet Buick GMC in Duncan, Abbotsford Volkswagen in Abbotsford and Chilliwack Volkswagen in Chilliwack, for gross proceeds of $32.2 million. The company said the properties "operated outside of AutoCanada's core regional operating clusters, limiting opportunities to realize operating scale and efficiency."

Net proceeds were used toward debt repayment.

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada's dealership operations segment operates 61 franchised dealerships in Canada, representing 23 automotive brands across eight provinces, as well as three independent used vehicle dealerships. In 2025, AutoCanada's Canadian dealerships sold approximately 71,000 new and used retail vehicles.

Across its primary dealership network, AutoCanada’s net balance sheet carrying value for owned property, plant and equipment stands at $295 million to $300 million, with market land valuations estimated higher.

AutoCanada's U.S. dealership portfolio is classified as discontinued operations as its sale progresses.