Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Group 1 Acquires Texas Mercedes Store

Group 1 Automotive continues its aggressive pace of acquisitions buying Mercedes Benz of Boerne, Texas from Ronald Heller and Bill Bird. The deal includes a Sprinter franchise and should generate about $135 million in annual revenue. The store is Group 1’s seventh Mercedes Benz dealership. Group 1 has acquired 41 dealerships dating back to January 2013… Continue Reading

Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Buyers & Sellers Both Hurt by Right of First Refusal

UPDATED — At least ten (updated from eight) cases of manufacturers using the Right of First Refusal since January 2013, including at least three lawsuits, shows dealers wanting to sell their stores and the dealers hoping to acquire need to do their homework up front to know whether it will be an issue. Since we first reported…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Sonic Unveils Pre-owned Strategy

Sonic Automotive is announcing more details today of its pre-owned strategy, which will include a national chain of used-car only stores. The initiative’s name will be EchoPark and will be launched in Denver in October. Ultimately, Sonic plans to be in approximately 50 markets, employing a hub-type model, each with a main store that will…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

California Superstores Sells Two More Stores

 California Superstores have sold two more dealerships in the last month in what appears to be a dismantling of the dealer group. The group, which began in late 2010,  once owned as many as 11 dealerships but is down to four.  The two most recent sales include Courtesy Chevrolet-Cadillac in San Jose and the Folsom Chrysler…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

DealerTrack Launches New CRM, 2nd Quarter Numbers Strong

DealerTrack reported strong second quarter earnings yesterday evening beating estimates on revenue by more than $11 million and earning-per-share by $0.04 giving its stock price a small bump during after-hours trading. Revenue for the quarter came in at $224.8 million — 85% higher than second quarter 2013. DealerTrack executives revised year-end revenue projections from $814.0…

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July Dealership Buy-Sell Activity

July Dealership Buy-Sell Activity

The dealership buy-sell market remained hot in July with 27 confirmed acquisition bringing the total for 2014 to 151 rooftops and 225 brands changing hands. In 2013, 110 dealerships changed owners through July. To download an Excel file of this year’s acquisitions click TBR_July_Buy_Sell_Excel. Chevrolet held onto its lead for the year with 16 acquisitions.…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

AutoTrader Developments – Updated

August 21, 2014 — UPDATED: Cox Enterprises announces Cox Automotive — as TBR predicted more than a week ago. Additionally, Manheim announced an acquisition in Brazil, adding to its global footprint. August 9, 2014 — Recently, there have been some intriguing developments in Atlanta at AutoTrader headquarters. Executive Leadership Earlier this week, AutoTrader.com announced it…

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