Roark Capital scoops up Driven Brands

Things are revving up in the automotive franchise world.

Roark Capital recently announced the acquisition of Driven Brands, a franchise automotive company, from Harvest Partners. Driven Brands' Jonathan Fitzpatrick is set to remain as company CEO.

“This is an exciting day for Driven Brands and our family of franchisees,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “Roark Capital brings us deep experience investing in growth consumer and franchise businesses, and their understanding of the importance of the franchisor-franchisee relationship makes them the right investment partner for all of our stakeholders.”

Roark Capital has acquired 42 multi-unit brands generating annual system revenues of nearly $17 billion. Meanwhile, Driven Brands manages numerous auto companies, pulling in annual system revenues of approximately $1 billion.

“We are very excited to welcome Driven Brands to the Roark Capital family,” said Neal Aronson, managing partner of Roark Capital. “We have great admiration for the franchisees who have made these iconic brands so successful, and are thrilled to contribute to their future growth.”