Good evening,

Western General Bodyworks is back for a second spin on the auction block, sparking expectations the privately owned smash repairer will be sold at between 7.5 times and 11 times its earnings.

Street Talk understands WGB’s bankers at Kidder Williams have begun reaching out to prospective suitors, telling them to think of getting their hands on 11 workshops that are primed to win big from the lucrative EV repair market. The owner, Danny Buzadzic, is understood to be open to offers for acquisition as well as strategic equity.

A flyer seen by Street Talk, dubbed Project Optimus, says WGB has doubled EBITDA since it pulled the brakes on its previous sale attempt two years ago. It is now forecasting earnings of $7.6 million for the 2024 financial year, based on about $46 million in budgeted revenue. It had 99 per cent free cash flow conversion last year, and annualised revenue has grown at about 18 per cent since the 2021 financial year, the flyer adds.

The business, founded in 1981, services about 14,000 cars a year across Victoria, NSW and Queensland – up from 10,000 in 2022, when it had a turnover of $33.9 million. Those were the figures shown to prospective buyers the last time it went on the block. Suitors weighing bids would be running their eyes over past deals in the sector, especially from ASX-listed smash repairerAMA Group and automotive parts maker GUD Holdings. In the closest comparables, AMA paid 11.1 times EBITDA to acquire Suncorp’s Capital SMART in 2019, and 7.5 times for Gemini Accident Repair Centres in 2015.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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