Russia's Rolf auto dealer in talks to buy businesses, including with major market players - CEO

SERPUKHOV. Nov 1 (Interfax) - The Rolf dealership holding is considering acquiring various players in the auto market in order to expand business, including the five largest auto dealerships, Rolf CEO Roman Antonov told reporters on Friday.

"We are currently negotiating with numerous market participants about acquiring the respective company. We choose not to disclose exactly who. Rolf intends to expand into the regions through purchasing businesses, as well as opening new dealerships on its own," Antonov said.

Antonov said that negotiations are currently underway "with both the top five players in the market, and with smaller companies."

In addition to Rolf, KeyAuto (239 billion rubles), Major (210 billion rubles), Avtomir (135 billion rubles), and Avilon (91 billion rubles) were the top five major players in the sector last year.

Rolf boosted revenue to International Financial Reporting Standards 40% year-on-year to 324 billion rubles in 2023, though net profit dropped 60% to 5.2 billion rubles.

Rolf is among Russia's largest car dealership holdings with a portfolio of over 30 brands. The company has 20 dealerships and 78 showrooms in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company ramped up auto sales 31.4% year-on-year to 131,000 vehicles in 2023, including 28,700 new cars, up 13% year-on-year, and 102,300 used autos, up 37.8% year-on-year.