Driven Brands Grows Auto Glass Business With Latest Acquisition | Franchise Mergers and Acquisitions

Driven Brands sees significant opportunity to consolidate what Michael Macaluso called a “highly fragmented” auto glass services industry, and the company is on an acquisition tear to do just that. Auto Glass Fitters is the latest addition to Driven Brands’ paint, collision and glass group and the fifth US-based business it’s purchased this year.

Driven Brands, which went public in 2021 with a record-setting IPO, is the parent company of numerous automotive service franchises including Meineke, Maaco, Carstar and Take 5 Oil Change. Private equity firm Roark Capital acquired Driven Brands in 2015.

“We’ve been very diligent and prescriptive in the businesses we’ve acquired,” said Macaluso, executive vice president and president of the paint, collision and glass group at Driven Brands. Pennsylvania-based Auto Glass Fitters is a predominately mobile business, with a network of service vans in more than 30 states to go along with 18 shops primarily in eastern states. That mobile focus, coupled with the company’s strong commercial business and East Coast presence, made it attractive to Driven Brands, he noted.

Michael Macaluso is president of the paint, collision and glass group at Driven Brands.

“We’re excited about the geographic footprint, the overall capabilities and just the people,” said Macaluso. Founder Richard Rutta “built a great, sound business. He’s been in business for more than a decade,” with year-over-year sales growth of 25 percent. Rutta will stay on “for a period of time,” added Macaluso, to assist with the transition to Driven Brands’ corporate portfolio.

Driven Brands first entered the glass business in Canada with its acquisition in 2019 of Clairus Group, which includes about 200 franchise locations across the UniGlass, VitroPlus, Go Glass and Docteur du Pare-Brise brands. The purchase of Auto Glass Fitters brings the glass vertically to more than 160 locations and almost 700 mobile units across 41 states in the US Auto Glass Fitters joins Auto Glass Now, All Star Glass, A-1 Glass and Perfection Auto Glass in the paint, collision and glass group.

The company may create a franchise opportunity in its US glass segment in the future, but its transactions thus far have served to grow the corporate portfolio.

The US has a $5 billion and growing auto glass services market, and there’s “really only one large, sophisticated competitor,” said Macaluso, a reference to Safelite, which has more than 7,100 company-owned mobile and brick-and-mortar repair facilities nationwide and has made a handful of acquisitions this year.

Macaluso, who was president of Carstar Canada and joined Driven Brands in 2015 when it acquired that brand, said auto glass services are “definitely our newest growth priority at Driven, but not our only priority.” He noted the company also plans to continue expanding its oil change and car wash segments.