CDK Global, a company that manages car dealer websites, is expected to make a takeover offer next week for Cars.com, two sources close to the process said.
That would put new CDK Chief Executive Brian Krzanich back in the spotlight after resigning as Intel boss last year.
Cars.com, with 19 million unique monthly visitors, sells ads to car dealerships such as the ones CDK manages. The company’s shares lost 16 cents Tuesday, to close at $26.02, giving the company a $1.8 billion market cap.
Shareholder activist Starboard Value is pressuring Cars.com to find a buyer and Cars.com is planning to take final round bids next week, sources said.
“CDK just lost General Motors [dealerships] which is a huge account and I have heard they are going to go on an M&A spree,” an executive in the auto dealership space said. “I think they could be a very interesting partnership,” the executive add. “Cars.com has a division that builds Web sites and media sites for dealers.”
Cars.com shares got hit last year when Facebook announced it was expanding its auto marketplace into Canada and the UK, following an announcement it was doing the same in the US.
On Jan. 16, Cars.com announced it had been exploring strategic alternatives since a September board meeting. The Post wrote exclusively in July that Cars.com had started a sales process.
Krzanich took over Intel in 2013 and saw its stock price rise more than 120 percent during his tenure. He offered his resignation after the company discovered the 58-year-old exec had a “consensual relationship with an Intel employee,” Intel said in a statement.
CDK hired Krzanich in November. “I am energized by the chance to help grow this unique company and take it to the next level,” Krzanich said at the time.
Cars.com declined comment. CDK did not return calls.