Copart to buy ACV Auctions for $10.50 a share in cash
Copart agreed Thursday, September 10, 2026 to acquire ACV Auctions for $10.50 a share, or about $1.9 billion; ACV jumped 43% after hours.
Copart, the online auctioneer built on salvage and wholesale vehicles, is paying cash to take ACV Auctions private and step into the dealer-to-dealer market ACV was built to serve. The companies said in a joint statement at 4:16 p.m. ET that Copart will pay $10.50 a share in cash, an implied equity value of about $1.9 billion. ACV closed the regular session at $7.22, then was quoted at $10.35 bid and $10.37 ask after hours as of 5:02 p.m. ET, 43% above the close at the midpoint and just under the cash offer.
Copart had fallen 4.0% to $30.75 before either announcement, then was quoted at $33.16 bid and $33.39 ask after hours, 8.2% above that close at the midpoint. One minute before the deal, Copart had posted fourth-quarter results.
A 45% premium to the last quiet close
Copart and ACV said the $10.50 price is a premium of about 45% to ACV’s close on Monday, August 10, which they called the last session before published reports of a potential transaction, and about 41% to ACV’s 30-day volume-weighted average price through Wednesday, September 9. ACV closed at $7.26 that August session. Thursday’s $7.22 close sat in the same neighborhood as that August print.
The cash price is still 58% below the $25.00 at which ACV priced its Class A shares on March 23, 2021. Over the past year the stock is down 34%. ACV remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis. In the quarter ended June 30 it reported revenue of $214 million and a GAAP net loss of $8 million, and it has guided to full-year 2026 revenue of $845 million to $855 million and a GAAP net loss of $49 million to $44 million. At June 30 it held $242 million of cash and $205 million of debt.
Both boards approved the deal unanimously. Copart will start a tender offer for all outstanding ACV shares at the same $10.50 cash price; the offer has not yet commenced. A majority of shares must be tendered, and the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law must expire or be terminated. The companies said they expect the transaction to close by year-end 2026. Thursday’s statement did not disclose a termination-fee amount.
Copart is buying a dealer marketplace, not leaving salvage
Jay Adair, Copart’s chief executive, called the purchase “a significant milestone in our growth strategy by creating an industry-leading end-to-end vehicle remarketing platform that is fully digital,” and said ACV “perfectly complements” Copart’s physical infrastructure and buyer network. George Chamoun, ACV’s chief executive, said joining Copart would “advance our mission, drive market expansion, and accelerate innovation with global scale.”
The companies described a combined platform spanning dealer trade-ins, wholesale remarketing, salvage disposition, and international resale. Copart said ACV gives it “an immediate, scaled position in the dealer-to-dealer vehicle auction channel” and a set of dealer-focused inspection, condition-data, and valuation tools. After closing, ACV is to run as an independent Copart subsidiary under its current leadership. Copart said it expects the deal to be neutral to earnings per share in the first full year of ownership and accretive in fiscal 2028 and beyond.
The dealer-wholesale channel ACV has named as its competitive set includes OPENLANE, which trades as KAR, and the digital auction operations at Manheim and at Carvana’s ADESA.
A $1.9 billion cash price against $1.91 billion of cash
The $1.9 billion cash price sits against $1.91 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash Copart held at July 31, the close of its fiscal year, plus $2.58 billion of held-to-maturity investments. Copart said it intends to fund the purchase with cash on hand and that the deal is not subject to a financing condition. It did not say which of those balances it will draw, or that any of the cash is restricted from the purchase.
The same afternoon Copart reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $4.7 billion and net income of $1.5 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was $1.2 billion, up 2.4% from a year earlier; diluted earnings per share fell to $0.35 from $0.41. Adair will take questions on both the quarter and the deal on Copart’s conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET.
What fund holders actually own
For almost every fund that owns ACV, the deal is a cash exit at $10.50 on a position that did not drive the fund. 56 U.S.-listed funds in etf.net’s product universe hold it, and the weights are small. The largest allocation is 0.96%, in an e-commerce fund, the Global X E-commerce ETF EBIZ, graded B. The largest dollar position is $32 million, a 0.04% weight in a small-cap U.S. equity fund, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM, graded A.
Copart is the name that sits in portfolios, and Thursday’s after-hours move is there. 283 funds in that same universe hold it. The concentrated sleeves will feel a Copart move. A U.S. active-growth fund, the Akre Focus ETF AKRE, graded D, is the largest weight in the universe. A U.S. capital-strength fund, the First Trust Capital Strength ETF FTCS, graded C; an online-retail fund, the Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY, graded B; and a wide-moat fund, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF MOAT, graded C, hold the next concentrated sleeves. In the large index funds the weight is a sliver.
The cash Copart said it will spend is already on its balance sheet. The funds that will notice are the ones that already own the buyer.
Frequently asked
What are ACV shareholders getting?
A cash exit at $10.50 a share, via a tender offer for all outstanding shares that has not yet commenced.
Why is Copart buying ACV?
It gets an immediate, scaled position in the dealer-to-dealer auction channel, plus dealer inspection, condition-data and valuation tools, alongside its existing salvage business.
How is Copart paying for it?
With cash on hand, and the deal is not subject to a financing condition.
What has to happen before it closes?
A majority of ACV shares must be tendered and the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period must expire or be terminated; the companies expect to close by year-end.