Enhancing M&A Success: The Cavender and Bridgehead IT Partnership

Industry

Automotive

Objective

Create a standardized IT operating model designed for scalability, enabling swift expansion through acquisitions while supporting the company’s EBITDA growth targets.

Results

Bridgehead IT partnered with the Cavender Auto Family to support their aggressive growth strategy through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The collaboration focused on delivering scalable, cost-effective IT solutions that could keep pace with Cavender’s rapid expansion.

Key Product

Standardized IT Operating Model, Cybersecurity Services, Global IT Management & Support, Call Center Infrastructure, IT Strategy & Diligence Support

2 → 18

Dealership Growth

2,100+

Employee Growth

≤ 60 Days

Integration Timeline

Bridgehead IT streamlines the entire process, saving us time and money by having everything laid out—equipment-wise, resources, project timeline, and identifying known risks and challenges up-front. Their on-site team is fast and efficient, doing a phenomenal job in the planning phase so that when they get on-site with my team, it’s just execution and a lot of hard work. This really helps in keeping my team’s overtime costs down and allows my team to focus on business applications or end-user items while Bridgehead’s team handles much of the equipment deployment and configuration.

Ben Stillwagon

Director of IT

The Client

Private Equity Firm: NA – Public
Client: Cavender Auto Family

The Objective

Create a standardized IT operating model designed for scalability, enabling swift expansion through acquisitions while supporting the company’s EBITDA growth targets.

Summary of Partnership Engagement

Cavender Auto Family teamed up with Bridgehead IT to design and implement a flexible, cost-effective IT strategy that supports their expansion through regional and national acquisitions. The strategy was built to meet a critical 60-day integration window post-acquisition while ensuring comprehensive IT management and support services. Bridgehead delivered an end-to-end solution covering cybersecurity, the integration of new acquisitions, and a centralized systems and support infrastructure. This approach drove platform standardization, leading to significant growth and enhanced operational efficiency.

The Results

Bridgehead’s end-to-end IT solutions for Cavender added immediate value to pre-close diligence along with immediate EBITDA growth for the portfolio: 

Cavender Auto Family was able to grow from 2 dealerships in 2019 to 18 dealerships with 2100+ employees in 2025.

Bridgehead IT worked closely with CDK Auto to create a bespoke solution to meet Cavender’s DMS and data warehousing needs.

Bridgehead IT’s cost structures and IaaS offerings work together to create a scalable platform to withstand the ups and downs of deals and acquisitions.

Due to defined growth strategy that demanded corporate agility, Bridgehead IT was able to deliver a plan for growth leveraging Microsoft 365 as a centralized platform for email, messaging, file sharing, cybersecurity, endpoint security, and productivity applications.

Bridgehead IT’s 24X7X365 security operations center de-risked the investment by prioritizing cyber posture and eliminating downtime.

Bridgehead IT’s national footprint and experts on demand has allowed Cavender IT to focus on their employees while Bridgehead IT teams to focus on deftly deployed infrastructure and cost reductions through infrastructure efficiency.

The Technology

Bridgehead IT used a variety of technology solutions to implement its IT integration blueprint, including:

Microsoft 365 for centralized email, messaging, file sharing, endpoint security, and productivity apps.
CDK Auto DMS integration for dealership management and data warehousing.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for scalable, cost-effective IT operations.
24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) for continuous monitoring and cyber risk mitigation.
Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM) for proactive system maintenance.
Advanced Managed Detection & Response (MDR) for endpoint cybersecurity.
Zero-cost onboarding and consumption-based pricing model.
Dedicated Technical Account Manager and on-demand expert resources.
Hardware/software licensing management and asset tracking.