Eagers Automotive has agreed to buy the remaining 20 percent of EV Dealer Group, its BYD retail joint venture, for cash and shares, with completion expected by October 31 and forecast earnings accretion of 5.0 to 5.5 percent.
Eagers Automotive has entered a binding, unconditional agreement to acquire the remaining 20 percent ownership interest in EV Dealer Group, the entity behind its BYD retail joint venture in Australia, for a combination of cash and Eagers ordinary shares. The deal will make EV Dealer Group a wholly owned subsidiary of Eagers, removing the last non-controlling interest in the venture.
Eagers already owned 80 percent after raising its stake from 49 percent in July 2023. The company expects the transaction to complete by October 31, 2026, and forecasts it will add 5.0 to 5.5 percent to earnings, based on pro-forma underlying operating profit before tax for the twelve months ended June 30, 2026.
The announcement, made ahead of the market open on Monday, sent Eagers shares up around 7 to 8 percent in lunchtime trade to about 20 Australian dollars, a sharp reversal for a stock that had fallen about 19 percent this year. The deal does not give Eagers BYD's brand or its Australian distribution rights, which sit with a separate entity; it buys full control of the retail business that sells the cars.
Reporting of the company's ASX announcement confirms the binding agreement, the cash-and-shares structure, the October 31 completion target and the earnings forecast, with two published accounts matching on each point. What the announcement does not disclose is the value of the cash consideration, the number of shares to be issued or the implied valuation of the 20 percent stake, and the earnings forecast rests on underlying, unaudited figures that exclude significant items.
The timing reflects a fast-moving Australian electric vehicle market. Battery-electric vehicles made up 24.2 percent of new-car sales in September, more than double their share a year earlier, and BYD sold 8,191 cars that month, up 61 percent year on year, making it the country's second-best-selling brand.
Completion by the end of the week is the immediate test, and the disclosure of the price will then show whether full control of the retail arm was bought cheaply or at a price that consumes the forecast earnings gain.