Kerrigan Advisors, an investment banking firm specializing in automotive dealership transactions, represented Atlanta-based Hennessy Automobile Companies in its approximately $1.3 billion sale to Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI), marking one of the largest dealership acquisitions in U.S. automotive retail history.
The transaction, which closed October 19, 2026, included Hennessy’s 10 dealerships across metropolitan Atlanta, representing Lexus, Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, Honda, Cadillac, Ford and Lincoln.
According to Kerrigan Advisors, the acquisition ranks as the third-largest transaction in automotive retail history based on blue sky value, the amount attributed to dealership goodwill and franchise rights.
The approximately $1.3 billion transaction value includes real estate, operating assets and an estimated $1 billion in blue sky value, which Kerrigan Advisors described as a record for a 10-dealership group.
Hennessy’s dealerships generate approximately $1.7 billion in annualized revenue, averaging about $170 million per dealership, more than twice the national average cited by Kerrigan Advisors.
The company retailed more than 22,000 vehicles in 2025.
The acquisition significantly expands Group 1 Automotive’s presence in the Atlanta market, increasing its dealership count in the metropolitan area from five to 15.
Atlanta becomes Group 1’s second-largest market by revenue, behind Houston, and its ninth U.S. market with at least five dealerships.
Group 1, a Fortune 250 automotive retailer, operates more than 250 dealerships across the United States and United Kingdom.
The transaction aligns with the company’s strategy of expanding its presence in established markets through acquisitions of premium automotive franchises.
“Our strategy focuses on premium brands in attractive growth markets,” said Daryl Kenningham, president and CEO of Group 1 Automotive.
“This acquisition expands our presence in the Atlanta market. The Hennessy family has a tremendous reputation in Atlanta, and we feel privileged to welcome this world-class business and its employees to Group 1.”
The acquisition includes Porsche North Atlanta, Porsche Atlanta Northwest, Lexus of Atlanta, Lexus of Gwinnett, JLR Buckhead, Land Rover North Atlanta, Land Rover Gwinnett, Honda of Woodstock, Hennessy Cadillac and Hennessy Ford Lincoln.
Hennessy Automobile Companies was founded in 1964 by Robert Hennessy, who began his automotive career after serving in World War II.
He initially worked in General Motors’ Motors Holding division before relocating to Georgia, where he opened Atlanta’s second Cadillac dealership.
Over the following six decades, three generations of the Hennessy family expanded the business into one of the region’s largest privately owned luxury automotive dealership groups.
The company became an original U.S. Range Rover dealer and opened the country’s first Land Rover Center in Alpharetta.
Hennessy also became an original Lexus dealer in 1990 and Georgia’s second Porsche dealer in 2001.
At the time, its Porsche dealership was the largest in the United States.
In 2024, Hennessy celebrated its 60th anniversary and opened Porsche Atlanta Northwest, adding another luxury dealership to its portfolio.
The group’s concentration in luxury automotive brands was a significant factor in its valuation.
According to Kerrigan Advisors, Hennessy accounted for approximately half of the new Porsche, Lexus and Jaguar Land Rover vehicles retailed in the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area during 2025.
Its portfolio included the sixth-ranked Porsche dealership and seventh-ranked Land Rover dealership in the United States, as well as the nation’s highest-ranked Jaguar dealership.
Hennessy also operated three of the four Land Rover franchises in the Atlanta market.
Luxury franchises represented approximately 70% of the company’s dealerships, giving it the highest luxury franchise concentration among the 150 largest dealership groups in the Southeast, according to Kerrigan Advisors.
The company also ranked among the 100 largest privately held U.S. dealership groups based on new-vehicle sales volume.
Peter Hennessy, president of Hennessy Automobile Companies and son of the founder, said the sale represented a transition for the family business after 62 years of operations.
“When my father, Robert Hennessy, opened our first store in 1964, he built it on a simple belief: take care of your people and your customers, and everything else will follow,” Hennessy said.
“For 62 years, that belief has guided our family.”
Hennessy said Group 1’s customer service philosophy and approach to employees were important considerations in selecting a buyer.
He also credited Kerrigan Advisors with managing the sale process, noting that the family had previously worked with the firm on a smaller dealership divestiture approximately one year earlier.
Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, said the transaction required balancing the family’s long-term business interests with the strategic objectives of a large publicly traded automotive retailer.
“It was a tremendous honor to represent the Hennessy family and lead this historic transaction,” Kerrigan said.
“For 62 years, Hennessy has set the standard for luxury automotive retail in Atlanta. In choosing us to lead this sale, the Hennessy family entrusted us with far more than a business – they entrusted us with a legacy six decades in the making.”
The transaction also reflects consolidation trends across the U.S. automotive retail industry, particularly among larger dealership operators seeking to expand market share in established geographic regions.
According to Kerrigan Advisors’ Second Quarter 2026 Blue Sky Report, the automotive dealership market recorded 462 transactions during the trailing 12-month period, a record level of activity.
The firm reported that most acquisitions involved buyers already operating in the markets where they purchased additional dealerships.
This trend reflects a strategy of increasing regional scale through acquisitions that add complementary brands, locations and customer bases.
Erin Kerrigan, founder and managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, said buyers are increasingly targeting established dealership groups with premium franchises and significant market share.
“Buyers are targeting top franchises that add to their existing regional market share, expecting that scale, combined with efficiencies from AI, will drive significant future earnings growth,” she said.
Kerrigan also identified the Southeast’s population growth and demand for luxury vehicles as factors supporting dealership acquisition valuations.
Atlanta is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and, according to Kerrigan Advisors, the fastest-growing metropolitan area and largest luxury vehicle market in the Southeast.
Luxury vehicles account for approximately 21% of the Atlanta market, the firm reported.
The acquisition strengthens Group 1’s position in that market while adding a substantial portfolio of luxury franchises.
Pete DeLongchamps, senior vice president of Group 1 Automotive, said Kerrigan Advisors coordinated the transaction process from initial discussions through closing.
He said the process was structured to support the transition of Hennessy’s employees and customers to Group 1.
The acquisition represents another major transaction for Kerrigan Advisors, which focuses exclusively on sell-side representation for automotive dealership owners.
Since its founding in 2014, the firm has advised on the sale of more than 470 automotive franchises, generating approximately $11 billion in proceeds for its clients.
Its transaction history includes the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group and the sale of Leith Automotive to Holman.
The Hennessy acquisition adds another multibillion-dollar-scale dealership portfolio transaction to the firm’s record.
Holland & Knight served as legal counsel to Hennessy Automobile Companies.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Group 1 Automotive, while Hill Ward Henderson and Vinson & Elkins LLP provided legal counsel to the buyer.
Kerrigan Advisors served as sell-side advisor to Hennessy.
The transaction illustrates the continued importance of dealership scale, premium automotive franchises and regional market concentration in automotive retail mergers and acquisitions.
For Group 1, the purchase provides an immediate expansion in one of the Southeast’s largest automotive markets, adding 10 dealerships with approximately $1.7 billion in annualized revenue.
For the Hennessy family, the sale concludes more than six decades of independent ownership of one of Atlanta’s most established luxury automotive dealership groups.
The acquisition also highlights the valuations that large dealership portfolios can command when they combine strong franchise representation, substantial revenue and significant regional market share.
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 450 franchises generating more than $11 billion in client proceeds, including three of the largest transactions in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group, Leith Automotive to Holman, and Hennessy Automotive Companies to Group 1 Automotive. 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 with 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®, 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 read the 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2026 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors is also the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership. Additionally, Kerrigan Advisors publishes a podcast, Beyond Blue Sky – A Kerrigan Conversation, where Kerrigan Advisors’ clients and industry leaders share the mindset, strategy and personal stories behind a once-in-a-generation transaction.
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