Microsoft auto software hits exit ramp

Microsoft is selling its Dealerpoint software business to Reynolds and Reynolds in a deal worth about $7 million, the companies said Wednesday.

Microsoft developed Dealerpoint in 1998 as part of its CarPoint auto service. Dealerpoint, managed by Microsoft's MSN division, helps car dealers manages leads that come in from the Internet and other sources.

Reynolds and Reynolds, a Dayton, Ohio-based software company that specializes in the automotive industry, will acquire the software, customer contracts and business assets, spokesman Bob Sadowski said. The companies expect to complete the deal by June 30.

About 4,000 Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Honda, Acura and Isuzu dealers use the service, Sadowski said.

Reynolds and Reynolds said Dealerpoint will supplement the company's existing contact management software, introduced in 2002.