Carbiz.com Acquires Tax Max Service Group Inc.
25 April 2000
Carbiz.com Acquires Tax Max Service Group Inc.
TORONTO--April 25, 2000--Carbiz.com Inc. (CDNX:CZ.) has signed a letter of intent to acquire Tax Max Service Group Inc.('TaxMax') of Tampa, Florida. The purchase price is US$439,000 in cash and shares of Carbiz.com subject to regulatory approval, with an expected closing in May 2000. TaxMax has approximately 800 automobile dealer customers, which generated revenue of US$639,000 and pre-tax income of US$49,000 in the latest fiscal year ended December 31,1999. Interim results January 1 to April 21,2000, produced revenue of US$508,000 and pre-tax income of US$76,000.The TaxMax product allows a prospective car purchaser to have their personal "tax refund" sent directly from the government to the automobile dealer to be used as the down payment on an automobile purchase. TaxMax combines the worlds of electronic tax filing, electronic communication, and interactive telephony to produce a unique marketing and sales promotion product. TaxMax makes rapid, on-site tax filing available to the retail marketplace of used cars and other large purchase items as a unique winter sales builder for dealerships.
TaxMax can prepare a tax return submitted from any location anywhere in the U.S. in 30 minutes or less, while the taxpayer is at a dealership. The dealership requires NO tax knowledge, it only needs a telephone and fax machine. The refund due to the taxpayer is then routed to and controlled by the submitting dealership, providing a down payment for the purchase of the used car. Tax Max has a successful 15 year history in the marketplace.
The TaxMax acquisition, combined with the previously announced acquisitions of Advanced Dealer Services of Sarasota, Florida and Financial Business Systems of Chesapeake Virginia, will provide Carbiz.com with a significant presence in the United States. Carbiz.com now has a total of 3200 automotive dealer customers located throughout North America and a yearend target of 5000 dealership customers.
Carbiz.com is a Toronto-based company that provides software and Internet solutions to financial institutions and the retail automotive industry resulting in cost savings and efficiencies in the research, purchase and financing of car transactions. Its flagship product, Full Spectrum 2000, is a software program that enables automobile dealers to arrange "on-the-spot" financing for consumers by connecting the dealers to credit bureaus and financial institutions via the Internet. It is particularly effective for "non-prime" or "Special" finance consumers who are unable to obtain credit from traditional lenders such as banks. This is the fastest growing segment of vehicle sales in North America. The Carbiz.com vision is to evolve to an Automotive Financing Portal Providing Consumers with One Stop Shopping and Financing for Automobiles and Auto Services.
The Canadian Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.