A leading Louisiana auto group has been acquired by one of the biggest groups in the country, ending a nearly 40-year local family business run.
The Baton Rouge-area All Star Automotive Group of 15 franchises across a dozen stores changed hands to South Carolina-based buyer Hudson Automotive Group in a sale brokered by Kerrian Advisors.
What started as a lone Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership in 1987 by Matt McKay grew into the state capital region’s leading auto group. Baton Rouge is Louisiana’s most populous parish.
The group represents the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, Chevrolet, Ford and Lincoln, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, Nissan and Toyota brands, all within a 10-mile radius. The stores generate nearly 20% of the market’s new-vehicles sales, Kerrigan said.
“This was an important and emotional transaction for our family,” said All Star founder Matt McKay, who decided to retire.
“Hudson Automotive is a well-established, highly respected organization, and we have no doubt that our employees, customers and community will benefit from their commitment to excellence.”
Hudson is in its third generation of family ownership. Its some 55 stores stretch from its home state to Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.
Hudson Auto CEO David Hudson said the group plans to retain All Star’s 700 employees. “We look forward to honoring All Star’s legacy, serving the Baton Rouge community, and continuing the tradition of excellence that has defined these dealerships for decades.”
McKay’s community involvement over All Star’s history includes his financial contribution toward the establishment of the McKay Automotive Technology Center at Baton Rouge Community College in 2017 to train service technicians. Kerrigan said he wanted to honor the legacy of his father, who taught school.
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 $10 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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