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I can't add much that Freddy and $0.02 put up, but one thing.
Didn't anyone notice that Jones Day was representing Riverside in the transaction?
How does professional ethics work when one huge legal beagle represents two large competing network providers or their owners, with no conflict of interest?
How many times has the question of "ownership" being hidden or "laundered" behind equity investors been asked by now?
I do know that state DOIs watch what insurers own, and have admitted that investment of money into private equity investors that may then re-invest that money into other "certain" business entities would effectively launder that ownership from oversight.
Can anyone be naive enough to believe that if an investor hands several hundreds of millions of dollars to a private equity investing firm, that they won't have "some" say in how or where that investment company invests their money?
There's more to this onion, or big ball of string, of course, but that should be enough to make you think about all of the private equity investors that have invested monies into this incredibly lucrative and cash rich auto glass business we're all in, I would think, other than to add that "some" investors may not actually "care" if the glass company they were investing in actually makes a profit, because it's made elsewhere and otherwise.
Surprise, Surprise...some "extra" information cometh forth in the article in BSB, regarding who's who, and who-we-be-in-this-for-and-what-we'll-be-a-doin'-and-where-work-will-be-a-goin'. (J.N. Phillips Auto Glass, Techna Glass, Windshield Centers and Harmon Auto Glass)
In other words, so many big words, and warm 'n fuzzy descriptions of steering and price control. What they cannot "refer" to themselves, they'll "fix" pricing to "allowed market pricing". Sound familiar? In a way, I suppose you can't blame them for "fighting fire with fire", but then, unlike the movie "War Games" one cannot invoke the solution "The smartest move is NOT to play!". Not without repercussions, of course. Again, sound familiar? Bottom line: to compete, or even have access to the market to try, one must become what one abhors?
All based on ignoring one simple fact: Insurers don't contract for repairs to cars, therefore, TPA's cannot be either, by default, and can't subcontract to anyone else. There is NO such thing as "insurance work".