July 10, 2023 — In June, 16 dealership buy-sell transactions involving 39 rooftops were announced. We’ll likely hear of more June deals in the coming weeks, as there often is a lag between a transaction’s completion and its announcement.
July is off to a slow start with only two transactions being announced through the first 10 days of the month.
Nouri/Shaver Automotive Group
The Nouri/Shaver Automotive Group closed last week on the acquisition of Palmdale Kia in Palmdale, CA. The Kia dealership was the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed in 2022 in which Kia Motors sued Rally Auto Group, which owned the dealership, and Alam Kahn, owner of the Dalia Auto Group.
Kia was attempting to stop Rally from selling to Kahn, claiming the sale involved an improper transfer of control.
The lawsuit was dismissed on July 6, following the purchase by Nouri/Shaver. It is the group’s 17th dealership.
In February, Bob Nouri and Pete Shaver acquired the famed Worthington Ford store from Nick Worthington and Dave Karolis.
Holand Automotive Group
The Canadian-based Holand Automotive Group announced last week it has acquired Ferrari of South Bay (CA) from the Mattioli Automotive Group.
In addition to owning several luxury dealerships in Canada, Holand also owns the Lamborghini Palm Beach store in FL.
June Transactions
Notable transactions last month include Lithia’s purchase of 14 stores from Dennis Ellmer’s Priority Automotive Group. Lithia then spun off the Toyota Hampton store to Damien Mills.
AutoNation also made a splash picking up five stores from the Bob Baker Auto Group in Southern California.
The Morgans went big with their acquisition of Al Hendrickson Toyota in Florida — rumored to be one — if not, the largest single-point transaction in history.
Two other important deals we did not include in our total is the Franchise Equity Partners’ minority investment of $55 million in the Parks Automotive Group; and the Canadian-based Alpha Auto group’s purchase of the Lookers dealer group in the U.K. for nearly $500 million.
Below are transactions announced in recent days.
Victory Automotive Group
The Michigan-based Victory Automotive Group acquired C&C Toyota and C&C Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram from Jim Cobb in Parkersburg, WV.
Victory, founded by Jeffrey Cappo more than 25 years ago, now has more than 52 locations in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, California, and West Virginia.
The Tim Lamb Group advised the Cobbs on the transaction.
Mills Automotive Group
The Mills Automotive Group, owned by Damien Mills acquired Priority Toyota in Hampton, VA, from Lithia Motors.
The transaction occurred days after Lithia acquired the dealership from Dennis Ellmer as part of its 14-store purchase of the Priority Group.
Mills renamed the dealership Classic Toyota of Hampton. Mills also purchased Bohn Ford in May from Group 1 Automotive.
Patriot Auto Group
Tatton Manning’s Patriot Auto Group acquired Bob Moore Chrysler Dodge in Tulsa, OK, Jeep Ram in late June from Mark Moore.
Patriot, founded in 2014, now has nine locations throughout Oklahoma.
#1 Cochran Automotive
#1 Cochran Automotive picked up Ford of Monroeville in Pennsylvania from Lithia Motors a few days after acquiring Boardman Nissan in Youngstown, OH from Matt Wickwire.
John Elway Dealerships
John Elway Dealerships acquired the Bentley and Lotus of Denver stores from Lithia Motors – the first of three dealerships Lithia offloaded in June.
Aaron Automotive Group
Vikas Mehandroo’s Aaron Automotive Group acquired Anderson Chevrolet in Lake Elsinore, CA, from the Anderson Auto Group.
Mehandroo, who came to the United States in 2002, purchased his first dealership, a Ford dealership in Poway, and now has three dealerships, including Aaron Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Norco.
Click the links below for information on other June transactions.
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