Transaction marks the 117th Kerrigan-led dealership sale since 2015
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kerrigan Advisors, a leading sell-side advisory firm to auto dealers in the U.S., represented Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD) in the sale of Audi Valencia to Ghreiwati Auto Group, owner of Surf City Nissan and Corona Nissan of Southern California.
This transaction marks the 117th dealership that Kerrigan Advisors has advised on the sale of since its founding in 2015, making the firm the most active sell-side advisor to the highest value transactions in auto retail. Kerrigan Advisors has its finger on the pulse of what has proven to be a record auto dealership buy/sell market in 2020/21, supported by extensive transaction expertise, a robust investor and buyer database, as well as the broad reach of The Blue Sky Report® by Kerrigan Advisors and the real-time market read-out of The Kerrigan Index™.
"We were proud to work with the quality team at Lithia Motors again, this time representing them in a sale of a valuable dealership" said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. "Our familiarity with the California auto retail market, the largest in the country, and our previous experience with the largest transactions in the state, meant we were well-positioned to identify the ideal buyer for Audi Valencia. Ghreiwati Group has a strong record of success in Southern California with Surf City Nissan and Corona Nissan, and their commitment to both employee and customer service excellence is well-aligned with Audi's goals."
In addition to its Southern California dealership holdings, Issam Ghreiwati, Dealer Principal of the Ghreiwati Auto Group, built one of the largest retail and wholesale automobile distribution businesses in the Middle East over the last three decades, including Kia, Ford, Land Rover and Jaguar franchises. He was also named a Kia World Dealer in 2010.
Lithia Motors is one of the largest and most active public dealer groups in the US, having acquired over $7.0 billion of annualized revenues since 2019.
"Our experience working with Kerrigan Advisors on a number of transactions over the past five years has been very positive, and we appreciated the exceptional support from their team as we completed this divestiture" said Lithia Motors President and CEO Bryan DeBoer. "Kerrigan Advisors' extensive buy/sell experience, particularly in the complex Southern California market, helped ensure that this transaction was seamless for our team."
Kerrigan Advisors is the most active sell-side advisor on larger transactions in the auto retail industry, achieving the highest sale price per client of any firm over the last five years. The firm attributes its success to its team's laser-focus on fulfilling each client's personal and professional goals. In addition to its sell-side advisory work, the firm offers strategic consulting services to dealers and their families, including growth planning, capital raising and valuation analysis, creating value at every stage of the auto retail lifecycle.
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.
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