Haig Partners assisted with the sale of BMW of Bridgeport to Mauro Motors in the mergers and acquisitions firm’s 40th dealership sale in the northeast since 2020.
The buy-sell agency served as the car dealer’s sole advisor for the purchase. Mitch McManus, dealer principal at BMW of Bridgeport, had previously worked with Haig Partners on the sale of the BMW of Ridgefield storefront. “Market conditions are exceptionally good right now, and we felt it was time for the next phase of our lives to begin,” stated MacManus. “They are in very good hands with Jake Mauro and the rest of the Mauro Motors team.” The Bridgeport location has served car buyers for more than twenty years.
Mauro Motors, now in its 30th year of operation, is looking forward to welcoming the BMW dealership into its group and plans to keep the Bridgeport team on board. “McManus and Ed McGill cultivated a culture of winning and excellence at this dealership,” wrote Jake Mauro, president of the organization, “while also developing an amazing group of dedicated employees that we couldn’t be more excited to work with.” Mauro went on to thank Haig Partners for working out the deal.
Mauro Motors’ purchase of BMW of Bridgeport underscores the accelerating pace of M&A activity outside the retail automotive industry’s traditional hotspots. Haig Partners has seen dealership values hold strong in the northeast as competition between buyers intensifies. Clients are now frequently searching for alternatives to the Texas and Florida markets, areas in which Mike Toth, Haig Partners managing director, noted “opportunities are in rare supply.” Since 2020, the M&A firm has recorded 40 transactions in the region.
However, even as more buyers express interest in purchasing a dealership, sellers must still remain flexible and open to change. Although dealers are used to relying on the previous year’s performance to set their prices, this strategy is less likely to work in 2023. Speaking to CBT News in May, Alan Haig, president and founder of Haig Partners, commented that “sellers have to understand that buyers still want to get a return on investment…and so for those sellers that are hoping to price their businesses off just 2022 earnings, I think they’re going to find very little acceptance of that from buyers.”
