E-commerce marketing · Industry brief

Copart completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of ACV Auctions on October 20, 2026, with ACV now operating as an independent Copart subsidiary. The deal, announced September 10, combines Copart's physical scale across 275+ locations and salvage expertise with ACV's digital marketplace technology and dealer relationships, creating what the companies describe as a fully integrated automotive remarketing platform. ACV's common stock ceased trading on the NYSE, and the acquisition was completed through a cash tender offer at $10.50 per share, with 68.43% of ACV's outstanding shares tendered as of the October 15 expiration date. The combined entity will connect dealer trade-ins, wholesale remarketing, and salvage disposition across Copart's global buyer base of approximately 1 million members in over 185 countries with ACV's $10 billion gross merchandise value transacted in 2025.

Arkansas's Act 624, which would ban pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx from owning pharmacies, faces a pivotal antitrust enforcement challenge. The law, designed to address PBM monopoly power and conflicts of interest in drug pricing, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, but Arkansas appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in September. The case has broader implications for state antitrust authority: PBMs argue the law violates interstate commerce protections, while Arkansas contends that a ruling against the state could strip all 50 states of their ability to enforce antitrust laws, removing protections against corporate monopolistic practices. According to the FTC, PBMs underpay independent pharmacies while overpaying their own and have inflated drug prices dramatically—one PBM sold a cancer drug costing $97 at Walgreens for over $19,000. The 8th Circuit will soon rule on whether to uphold or strike down the preliminary injunction.