By Abigail Summerville
(Reuters) – Quick Quack Car Wash is exploring the sale of a minority stake that could value one of the largest car wash chains in the United States at more than $3 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Roseville, California-based company, which is owned by its founders and private equity firm Seidler Equity Partners, is working with investment banks Goldman Sachs and William Blair on a sale process, the sources said.
No deal is certain, the sources cautioned, and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Quick Quack, Seidler, Goldman and William Blair declined to comment.
Quick Quack is known for its duck mascot ‘Quackals’ and for hosting fundraisers at each new location it opens, providing free car washes in exchange for donations it then matches. The donations are given to a local individual or family in need or a charity.
Quick Quack launched in 2004 with one location in Sacramento, California. In 2008, it acquired a chain of car washes in Texas called Quick Quack Car Wash and abandoned its previous Splash & Dash Car Wash name.
The company operates over 220 locations in California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Utah, making it the fourth largest car wash chain in the United States, according to its website.
In recent years, private equity firms have been major investors in car wash companies.
Last year, Oaktree Capital Management acquired Magnolia Wash Holdings for an undisclosed amount. In 2022, Warburg Pincus bought El Car Wash.
In 2021, Mister Car Wash, a Leonard Green & Partners-backed company, and Driven Brands, backed by Roark Capital, listed in the stock market.
(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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