Irvine-based automotive research website operator Kelley Blue Book is being bought for an estimated $500 million by Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com LLC.
Kelley Blue Book is set to become an AutoTrader subsidiary and continue to be based Irvine. Chief Executive Paul Johnson is set to stay in place.
The deal had been expected with reports pegging AutoTrader as a possible suitor. The sale is set to close by year’s end.
AutoTrader.com runs the largest used vehicle website with listings for individual sellers and dealers. The site also offers vehicle reviews, warranty information and access to insurance, and financing.
The company is owned by Atlanta-based cable TV operator Cox Enterprises Inc. and private equity firms Providence Equity Partners LLC of Rhode Island and Silicon Valley’s Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer.
Kelley Blue Book got its start in 1914 when Les Kelley began buying, reconditioning and selling old vehicles.
He started a newsletter listing prices he was willing to pay for vehicles. It was named the “Blue Book of Motor Car Values.”
In the 1950s, the newsletter became a bimonthly subscription trade publication called Blue Book, listing used auto prices according to their makes, models and conditions.
Along the way, the company’s Blue Books became a bible for car buyers and sellers alike.
In the 1990s, the publication went completely online.
