Asbury Automotive Group Inc. has added eight dealerships in the Denver area and $715 million in annual revenue by closing on the purchase of Stevinson Automotive.
The nation’s sixth-largest new-vehicle retailer said it spent about $300 million for the dealership goodwill — the blue sky, or intangible value of the stores — plus $77 million for real estate and leasehold interests, according to a regulatory filing. The purchase price excludes vehicle inventory, parts inventory and fixed assets.
The transaction closed Monday and was paid for with cash on hand, Asbury said.
“We are thrilled to add to our growing footprint in the dynamic and growing Denver area, especially through a well-respected and successful dealership group like Stevinson,” Asbury CEO David Hult said in a statement Tuesday.
The Stevinson group, which dates to 1962, derives 48 percent of its revenue from two Toyota dealerships, while two Lexus dealerships contribute another 27 percent. The remainder of the revenue stems from single Porsche, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Jaguar locations, Asbury said. Stevinson also has a Land Rover open point, which was part of the acquisition. The stores are all in the Denver suburbs.
Stevinson President Kent Stevinson will remain to help Asbury with unspecified “real estate and construction projects in Colorado,” Hult said.
“After meeting with David Hult and the Asbury team and getting to know them, I knew that their business approach, their philosophy toward employees and customers mirrored our own here at Stevinson,” Kent Stevinson said in a statement.
Asbury at the end of October said it expected in 2021 to purchase dealerships expected to generate $6.6 billion in annual revenue, including $5.7 billion from its pending purchase of Larry H. Miller Dealerships and finance and insurance provider Total Care Auto.
Hult said on an Oct. 26 earnings call that the remaining $900 million would derive from the purchase that day of Arapahoe Hyundai/Genesis of Arapahoe in Centennial, Colo., and what he at the time characterized as a “very strong group” worth $740 million.
Asbury announced in late September that it planned to buy Larry H. Miller, of Sandy, Utah, the country’s eighth-largest new-vehicle retailer, including 54 new-vehicle dealerships, seven used-vehicle dealerships and 11 collision centers.
Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Irvine, Calif., represented Stevinson Automotive in the transaction, and Stephen Dietrich of Holland & Knight law firm provided legal counsel. Kevin Sutton and Katherine Frazier of Hill Ward Henderson offered legal advice to Asbury.
Asbury, of Duluth, Ga., ranks No. 6 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 95,165 new vehicles in 2020.