AutoTrader.com to purchase Kelley Blue Book

AutoTrader.com, which runs a website linking buyers and sellers of used cars, has agreed to acquire Kelley Blue Book, a provider of new- and used-vehicle information.

Kelley Blue Book will operate as a subsidiary of AutoTrader.com and continue to be headquartered in Irvine, the companies said.

Details of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year, are not being disclosed, Atlanta-based AutoTrader said. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acted as Kelley Blue’s financial adviser on the sale, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. provided financial advice to AutoTrader.

Paul Johnson, Kelley Blue’s chief executive, and the rest of the “leadership team” will remain in place, according to the statement. Kelley Blue, founded in 1926, provides auto information to dealers, banks and insurance companies in the U.S. on a weekly basis.

“Together we can bring a host of new technologies and tools to market that will significantly improve the car shopping process for consumers, and help auto dealers and manufacturers,” AutoTrader President and CEO Chip Perry said in the statement.