Germain Motor Co. increased its luxury holdings and entered a new state in a deal that snagged multiple exclusive dealerships in Louisville, Ky.
The private retailer on Aug. 12 purchased Blue Grass Motorsport, an 8.6-acre campus that’s home to the renamed Porsche Louisville and Jaguar-Land Rover Louisville, the only dealerships to sell those brands in the state, and Audi Louisville, one of just two locations for the brand in Kentucky.
Porsche Louisville formerly was named Blue Grass Motorsport. The other store names will remain the same.
Jessica Germain, vice president of her family’s namesake group, told Automotive News via email they were excited to expand their representation of the luxury brands.
“The partnership with the brands is always the priority for us and then the market has to be the right fit for us,” Germain wrote. “Louisville is a natural fit for us due to its similarities to the other cities we are located and its proximity to our headquarters.”
Germain Motor Co. is located in Columbus, Ohio, about 200 miles north of Louisville.
Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side advisory firm in Incline Village, Nev., that represented the sellers, told Automotive News the dealerships were highly sought after.
“This transaction is indicative of today’s buy-sell market,” Kerrigan said because it highlights buyers’ continued desires for premium franchises in top markets, especially in the southern United States.
“It is also indicative of the generational changes that are going on in auto retail, where second-generation families are deciding that the time is right for their family to exit the business,” Kerrigan said.
Brothers Andy Vine and Mike Vine, along with their brother-in-law Jim Haynes, were the sellers and second-generation owners of their family-owned business. Herb Vine, father of Andy and Mike, founded the business in 1966.
“Our family is honored to have served the Louisville community for decades, and we are deeply grateful to our employees and customers for their loyalty and support,” Haynes said in release.
The dealerships have won 16 Porsche Premier Dealer awards, nine Audi Magna Society awards, three Land Rover Pinnacle Club awards and two Jaguar Pride awards, according to Kerrigan Advisors. And Louisville, the firm said, presents an attractive market with an affluent population surrounding the dealership area.
Jessica Germain, along with siblings Zach and Austin, represent the fourth generation of leadership at the family-owned Germain Motor Co. Their father, Steve Germain, is chairman.
“Bluegrass Motors was a multi-generational business like ours, so we look forward to taking care of their associates and the clientele who have made them successful for many decades,” Germain said.
Germain now owns more than 20 dealerships in states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona.
Counting the Louisville deal, the group completed at least four transactions this year, including two sales in June and July, with an April acquisition recorded, too.
“As we transition into the fourth generation, we want to keep growing upon what our parents, Steve and Kim, built,” Germain said. “We are proud of the brands we represent and love our geographic footprint.”
Germain ranks No. 76 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups in the U.S., retailing 15,231 new vehicles in 2024.
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 more than 300 dealerships generating more than $9.5 billion in client proceeds, including two of the largest transactions in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group and Leith Automotive to Holman. 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 is the only firm in auto retail exclusively dedicated to sell-side advisory, providing its clients the assurance of a conflict-free approach.
Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, the industry authority on dealership buy/sell market trends and valuations and 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 The Kerrigan Index™ comprised 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 2024 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2025 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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