CDK Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDK), a leading automotive retail technology company, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Salty Dot, Inc. (“Salty”), a convenient, mobile-first solution that helps consumers secure the insurance they need for their vehicle seamlessly without leaving the car-buying experience.
Salty’s technology will further expand CDK’s suite of digital offerings and grow its total addressable market beyond the digitization of traditional dealer workflows. This new capability will also enable dealers to create a new, recurring revenue stream from within the $311 billion U.S. automobile insurance market1 and develop deeper consumer relationships beyond the vehicle sale.
“In a time of significant retail disruption, CDK is focused on helping dealers and manufacturers meet the evolving demand for simple and convenient retail experiences,” said Brian Krzanich, president and chief executive officer, CDK Global. “Now that we’ve completely digitized the sales and service processes within the dealership model, we are taking the next step of bringing dealers new capabilities—like Salty’s Embedded Insurance®—to help consumers manage the many decisions that come with buying and owning a car. With Salty, we are strategically rethinking the future of auto retail and helping put dealers in command of the entire consumer experience.”
Salty’s insurance platform uses cutting-edge technology to build a customized, competitive and bindable insurance quote through its top-rated carrier network. Through a seamless integration with the dealer management system (DMS), the car buyer receives a text message during their purchase process with a link to a quick and easy form. Salty’s platform—driven by artificial intelligence—then selects the carrier and personalized policy based on their answers and presents it to them digitally within minutes.
“I am proud of the work the Salty team has done in creating a digital experience that gives consumers a seamless way to buy insurance when its most relevant to them—during the car-buying process,” said James Hall, founder and chief executive officer, Salty. “By joining an industry leader like CDK, Salty gains instant access to nearly 15,000 retail locations in automotive and related industries, which will accelerate the adoption of our platform and fundamentally change the experience consumers have during and after a vehicle purchase.”
Salty is licensed in all 50 states and is available to all dealers nationwide—not just those that use CDK’s DMS or customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Salty is an early stage product with rapid long-term growth potential but will not impact CDK’s current fiscal 2022 guidance.
