Sale of ‘Top 100’ dealership group to one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States marks 27th dealership sale for Kerrigan Advisors since 2015
Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisory firm focused exclusively on auto retail, represented and advised New York-based Carbone Auto Group, a Top 100 dealership group, in its successful sale to Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD), the fifth largest automotive retailer in the US. The transaction, which represents the 27th dealership sale managed by Kerrigan Advisors since July 2015, was completed on September 12, 2016. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Lithia Motors will be acquiring all of Carbone Auto Group’s 11 auto retail dealerships, representing over $500 million in revenue from 17 franchises, including BMW, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Ford, Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Nissan. Carbone Auto Group, founded in 1920 by Joe Carbone, is the 94th largest auto group in the country according to Automotive News. Enessa Carbone, Chief Executive Officer and granddaughter of Joe Carbone, will continue to oversee the group under Lithia’s ownership. She will be joined by Alex Carbone, grandson of Joe Carbone, who will continue to oversee the group’s variable operations.
“We could not have completed this sale without the guidance and expertise of Kerrigan Advisors. Erin Kerrigan and her team did an exceptional job representing our family and running the sale process,” said Ms. Carbone. “We are excited for Carbone’s next chapter under Lithia’s ownership and I look forward to working with Lithia’s management team to grow our platform in the Northeast.”
“It was very important to us that we find the right buyer for the Carbone family, particularly one that would continue the Carbone commitment to their community, employees and customers,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “Lithia is that buyer. We are very happy that Enessa and Alex Carbone will continue to lead the Carbone Auto Group and that their family’s legacy in the auto retail industry will live on.”
Since July 2015, Kerrigan Advisors has represented over $550 million in client proceeds associated with the sale of multi-franchise platforms and stand-alone dealerships. With the completion of the Carbone sale, Kerrigan Advisors will have sold two of the Top 100 dealerships groups in the US, making the firm the top sell-side advisor to large dealership groups in the US. In December 2015, Kerrigan Advisors represented the Louisville, Kentucky-based Sam Swope Auto Group in its sale to Florida-based AMSI (Sam Swope Auto Group was ranked 89th by Automotive News).
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 280 dealerships representing $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.
Contact us to learn more about Kerrigan Advisors’ sell-side services.
All of our conversations are 100% confidential.
