Asbury CEO David Hult and George Karolis of The Presidio Group discuss the company’s exceptional M&A activity

Mergers and acquisitions in retail automotive reached astounding levels in 2020, and the market shows no signs of slowing down. One of the biggest acquisitions in recent memory, was by Asbury Automotive Group which acquired several luxury Park Place dealerships. This deal added 12 franchises and a reported 1.7 billion dollars in annual revenue for Asbury.

On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome David Hult, president and CEO of Asbury Automotive Group and George Karolis, president of The Presidio Group to discuss this unprecedented activity in the M&A market.

After suffering some delays due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Asbury Automotive Group completed its acquisition of Park Place Dealerships in the second half of 2020. Park Place brought several award-winning dealerships to the Asbury umbrella, in highly coveted locations. The Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Porsche, and Jaguar/Land Rover stores rank among the top in the country amongst their franchises.

“An acquisition like that doesn’t come to market but once in my lifetime,” says Hult. “To me, Park place is the crown jewel in automotive because of their success and what they have accomplished, and all the different levels that they offer between internally with their guest, and their employees, and everyone else. To us, it was the ultimate asset to have.”

Executing a large-scale acquisition requires the assistance of a skilled and knowledgeable broker like The Presidio Group. Hult wanted to ensure that Park Place customers felt no disruptions during the transition. Furthermore, Asbury wanted to get their hands on the processes and technologies that Park Place executes well, and learn from them in order to improve other Asbury-owned car dealerships.

To learn more about Asbury Automotive Group’s M&A activity, be sure to watch the complete interview above.