Four dealership groups added single dealerships to their portfolios in fourth-quarter and first-quarter transactions.
Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and luxury stores and dealerships in Michigan, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas. One transaction involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News' list of top 150 dealership groups.
LaFontaine Automotive Group has acquired Pfeiffer Lincoln in Grand Rapids, Mich., marking the second Grand Rapids dealership for the Highland, Mich., group as it continues to expand into western Michigan.
The acquisition, which closed Monday, follows LaFontaine Automotive's August purchase of Keller Ford. The Lincoln store purchased from the Pfeiffer family was renamed LaFontaine Lincoln Grand Rapids.
"In short order, we've seen tremendous opportunity in the greater Grand Rapids area for continued growth for our group," LaFontaine CEO Ryan LaFontaine said in a statement.
LaFontaine Automotive now has 53 franchises, representing 24 brands and nine collision centers, all in Michigan. The Pfeiffer purchase is its second Lincoln dealership.
The transaction also included Pfeiffer's wholesale parts distribution center, which LaFontaine Automotive said was the largest Ford wholesale parts distributor in Michigan, with annual sales of more than $21 million.
Pfeiffer Lincoln was started in the mid-1960s by Dan Pfeiffer, who died in 2021.
LaFontaine Automotive said it is updating dealership technology and bolstering staff, has increased used-vehicle inventory and is working to update the service department.
In 2022, LaFontaine Automotive said it sold more than 50,000 total vehicles and serviced more than 275,000. This year, it projects it will sell more than 55,000 combined used and new vehicles and service more than 325,000.
LaFontaine Automotive ranks No. 33 on Automotive News' most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 24,399 new vehicles in 2021.
Mike Toth, managing director of Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., represented the seller in the transaction.
Dealership Buy-Sell: This Automotive News feature lists dealership acquisitions as reported by brokers, news media and official announcements. See our list of buy-sells and submit details of your deals here.The Maroone USA dealership group and Oscar Cano teamed up in December to buy a General Motors dealership in Boulder, Colo., marking the seventh dealership for the Maroone group.
Maroone USA and Cano bought McCaddon Cadillac-Buick-GMC from the McCaddon family on Dec.1, according to William Knowles, COO of Maroone USA. Cano has worked for the group for more than three years including as a general sales manager, Knowles told Automotive News in an email. Cano is now president and operating partner for the new dealership, which was renamed Mike Maroone Cadillac-Buick-GMC.
"The McCaddon family has served Boulder and its surrounding communities with integrity and passion since 1958," Mike Maroone, CEO of Maroone USA, said in a statement. "We are proud to build upon the legacy of the McCaddon family."
This is the first dealership acquisition for Maroone USA since the group in late 2020 took over full ownership of Roger Dean Chevrolet in West Palm Beach, Fla., and renamed that store Mike Maroone Chevrolet.
Maroone USA also has dealerships in Colorado, including in Colorado Springs and Longmont representing the Chevrolet, Honda, Volkswagen and Ford brands.
Mike Maroone, the former COO of AutoNation Inc., was part of the Maroone Auto Group, which sold its stores to AutoNation in 1997. He came out of retirement in 2017 to buy four Colorado dealerships.
McGovern Automotive Group, one of the more active dealership buyers of 2022, ended the year with the purchase of a Ford store in Massachusetts.
McGovern Automotive, of Newton, Mass., on Dec. 28 bought York Ford in Saugus from Brad York and Adam York. The dealership was renamed McGovern Ford of Saugus, the company confirmed. Saugus is north of Boston.
"We're thrilled to be continuing McGovern Auto Group's rapid growth," the group's CEO Matt McGovern said in a statement.
The acquisition follows McGovern Automotive's November purchase of a Kia dealership near Boston. In October, McGovern Automotive bought two luxury dealerships representing three brands in the Albany, N.Y., market.
McGovern also bought Subaru, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Stellantis dealerships in 2022.
Following the Ford store acquisition, McGovern has 24 new- and used-vehicle dealerships.
Mike Terry of Mike Terry Auto Group of Mexia, Texas, added a sixth dealership with the November purchase of Wilkinson Chevrolet.
Terry on Nov. 9 purchased what is now Mike Terry Chevrolet in Refugio, a city in southern Texas, from Nancy Wilkinson.
Terry is an owner in five other dealerships, three more in Texas and two in Arkansas, the latter purchased in partnership with Tony Thomas last year. That duo as part of Terry-Thomas Automotive Group bought Nissan and Ford dealerships in Blytheville, in northeastern Arkansas. Thomas also owns a Stellantis dealership in South Carolina.
The staff at Terry's Refugio dealership was maintained and there are no plans to make changes to the facility, Terry told Automotive News.
The purchase of the Refugio dealership is likely not the last for Terry. He said he is looking to purchase additional dealerships.
The Grand Rapids Business Journal contributed to this report.
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