Spartan Auto Group has sold its Spartan Toyota, Wolverine Toyota and Lexus of Ann Arbor to Germain Automotive Partnership and has sold its Lexus of Lansing store to Serra Automotive.
The transactions were announced by Kerrigan Advisors, which represented Spartan Auto Group and the Criscuolo family.
“It was our honor to work with the Criscuolo family on this generational transaction,” Kerrigan Advisors managing director Ryan Kerrigan, said in a news release. “The Criscuolos have been prominent representatives for Toyota and Lexus in Michigan since the 1980s and were visionary partners for these OEMs in the Upper Midwest.”
“Rosario Criscuolo will forever be remembered as a pioneer in automotive retail in the state of Michigan. These transactions further confirm the depth of interest amongst growing dealer groups for adding Toyota and Lexus dealerships to their portfolios.”
Co-owner Derek Criscuolo said: “Our father taught us to focus on relationships. His credo was ‘relationships, not salesmanship.’ That’s what made doing business at our dealerships such a special and memorable experience.
“We are grateful to have experienced such a positive working relationship with Kerrigan Advisors, whose comprehensive, focused and sensitive approach throughout the process ensured that all our family’s goals and objectives were met.”
Co-owner Deanna Criscuolo added: “Our father created a small town feeling in all of our stores, and that was true even in dealerships that served larger cities like Lansing. That family feeling of comfort and belonging is his legacy, and we’re grateful that with Kerrigan Advisors’ support through every phase of the transaction process — from sale preparation and marketing to negotiations and closing — that legacy will be successfully passed on to Germain and Serra, both highly regarded Midwest dealership groups.”
Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 275 dealerships representing nearly $9 billion in client proceeds, including the third largest transaction in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group. The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors does not take listings, rather they develop a customized sales approach for each client to achieve their personal and financial goals. In addition to the firm’s sell-side advisory services, Kerrigan Advisors also provides a suite of consulting and investor services including growth strategy, market valuation assessments, capital allocation, transactional due diligence, open point proposals, operational improvement and real estate due diligence.
Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples, and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index™, click here. To read the 2023 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2024 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.
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