Lithia expands to Mississippi, sells California store

Written by:
Auto Remarketing
June 22, 2021

MEDFORD, Ore. – Lithia & Driveway has extended its footprint to Mississippi through the purchase of Toyota of Jackson, the dealer group said Tuesday.

Lithia expects the dealership to bring in annualized revenues of $95 million.

Since announcing a five-year plan in 2020, Lithia is now at $7.6 billion in total expected annualized revenues acquired.

“We are excited to complete our first year of the five-year plan to reach $50 billion in revenue and $50 of earnings per share well beyond expectations,” Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said in a news release.

“Our growing presence in the Southeast region strategically enhances our nationwide network that is foundational to Lithia and Driveway conveniently serving customers throughout the entire vehicle ownership lifecycle,” he said.

Lithia financed the purchase with existing on-balance sheet capacity.

“We welcome one of the strongest new vehicle businesses in Mississippi and the team to the LAD family,” DeBoer said.

In other news from the dealership group Lithia has sold its Audi Valencia in store in California to Ghreiwati Auto Group..

The latter is a Southern California dealership group that owns Surf City Nissan and Corona Nissan, and is helmed by dealer principal Issam Ghreiwati.

Kerrigan Advisors, which advised Lithia on the transaction, shared news of the deal in a release Tuesday.

“We were proud to work with the quality team at Lithia Motors again, this time representing them in a sale of a valuable dealership,” founder and managing director Erin Kerrigan said.

“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,” Kerrigan said.

DeBoer, the Lithia CEO, said in the release, “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.

“Kerrigan Advisors’ extensive buy/sell experience, particularly in the complex Southern California market, helped ensure that this transaction was seamless for our team.”

About Kerrigan Advisors

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 275 dealerships representing nearly $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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