Three auto retailers acquired dealerships in second-quarter transactions across Florida, Alabama and Missouri.
Here’s a look at the deals involving domestic and import dealerships. One of the transactions involved a group ranked on Automotive News‘ top 150 dealership groups list.
Morgan Automotive Group adds Kia dealership
Morgan Automotive Group, which this month purchased two Tampa, Fla., dealerships, has acquired a Kia dealership in Clermont, Fla.
Morgan Automotive of Tampa, bought Fuccillo Kia of Clermont on May 23 from Fuccillo Automotive Group, Morgan Automotive CEO Brett Morgan confirmed to Automotive News. Clermont is west of Orlando.
Morgan Automotive, in a May 25 Facebook post, said Kia of Clermont marked the group’s 56th dealership.
“This brand new store features 45,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities and 19 acres of new and pre-owned inventory,” according to the post.
Brett Morgan said his group was interested in the store because they are “bullish on Kia” and liked the “growing Clermont community.”
The acquisition marks the group’s second in a week’s span. On May 16, the group bought Jim Browne Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram Tampa Bay and Jim Browne Chevrolet Tampa from dealer Jim Browne.
And Morgan Automotive also has purchased from the Fuccillo group before. In August 2021, Morgan Automotive acquired Fuccillo Nissan of Clearwater in Florida.
The Fuccillo group has been selling numerous dealerships over the past year-plus. Last month, it sold 10 franchised dealerships in New York to Wally Darwish.
Morgan Automotive ranks No. 8 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 60,951 new vehicles last year.
Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev., represented the seller in the transaction.
Sandy Sansing group adds Alabama store
Sandy Sansing Automotive Group of Pensacola, Fla., has purchased Gulf Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Foley, Ala., according to David Sansing, the group’s vice president.
Sandy Sansing Automotive on May 2 bought Gulf Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram from brothers David and John Blanchard, who have now retired from the dealership business, Sansing said.
His group now has 12 stores in Alabama and Florida. Its newly acquired dealership was renamed Sandy Sansing Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Foley.
Sansing said in an interview with Automotive News that Sandy Sansing Automotive already owned Chevrolet and Nissan dealerships in Foley and adding the Stellantis dealership gives the company a competitive advantage.
“We pursued this store because we really liked the CDJR brand and it was in our geographic proximity,” he said.
Max Motors adds auto mall location in Missouri
Max Motors Dealerships, co-owned by Mark Muller and Bob Jacaway, last month purchased the Nevada Auto Mall dealership, marking its second store in Nevada, Mo.
Max Motors of Harrisonville, Mo., on April 7 bought the Ford-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store from Dan Hope, according to Performance Brokerage Services, a buy-sell firm in Irvine, Calif., which handled the transaction. Paul Kechnie, Texas and Midwest partner for the firm, brokered the deal.
Max Motors renamed the dealership Max Ford-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Nevada.
Hope opened the auto mall in 1994 after starting his career selling cars in 1969 and buying his first store in 1975, according to the brokerage firm.
Max Motors retained Hope’s employees including his son, Dan Hope Jr., and grandson, Dan Hope III, Jacaway, the firm’s CEO, told Automotive News.
Max Motors was founded in 2006 in Butler, Mo., by Muller. He and his family starred in “God, Guns & Automobiles,” a reality TV show that aired on the History Channel.
Jacaway said the group wanted to add the auto mall to its portfolio to boost its reach.
“With the addition of Nevada Auto Mall, that gives us three Ford and three CDJR stores in contiguous markets and expands our ability to service our customers,” he wrote in an email.
Max Motors also has a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC dealership in Nevada, Mo. Last year, it expanded to Kansas with the purchase of Ford and Hyundai dealerships in Manhattan.
In addition to the Nevada, Mo., locations and its Kansas dealerships, Max Motors also has a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in Belton, Mo., a Ford store in Harrisonville, a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Ford store in Butler, plus a collision center in Harrisonville and a used-vehicle dealership in Belton.
