Morrie’s Auto Group entered Nebraska and the Omaha market with its purchase of Chevrolet, Hyundai and Subaru dealerships from fourth-generation dealer Carey Beardmore Hamilton and her husband, Brian Hamilton.
Morrie’s April purchase of Beardmore Chevrolet, Beardmore Hyundai and Beardmore Subaru in Bellevue, Neb., was part of the group’s continued Midwest expansion, according to a news release from Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev., that advised the Hamiltons in the deal.
“These dealerships were a good fit because they are strong brands, in a strong market with an operations team that has been with the dealerships for decades,” a Morrie’s Auto spokesperson said. “As a team, they lead with honesty and integrity and doing right by the customer, which aligns with the Morrie’s Auto Group and our core philosophies of supporting customers in the Midwest.”
The Hamiltons, of Midway Auto Dealerships, had owned the Chevy store since 1995, when they bought it from Carey’s father, Moe Beardmore, Brian Hamilton said. He and his wife sold the Bellevue stores because they had no succession plan and want to focus on the Kearney market, nearly 200 miles west, where they own Midway Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Midway Chevrolet-Buick-GMC.
The group was an attractive buyer because of its plans for the stores’ staff, Brian Hamilton said.
“What I loved about Morrie’s is they hired all the employees, kept all the original dates of hire, for vacation,” he said. “They also brought in really good benefits.”
Morrie’s renamed the stores Morrie’s Bellevue Chevrolet, Morrie’s Bellevue Hyundai and Morrie’s Bellevue Subaru.
Morrie’s has domestic, import and luxury stores in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Its most recent previous acquisition was its August 2024 purchase of Hyundai and Kia dealerships in Peoria, Ill.
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 440 franchises 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 2025 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.
Contact us to learn more about Kerrigan Advisors’ sell-side services.
All of our conversations are 100% confidential.
