Hudson Automotive Group is set to acquire South Carolina dealership group Vic Bailey Automotive.
According to a Monday press release, the two businesses have already signed an agreement, with a purchase date set in early December. The transaction includes Vic Bailey Automotive’s five dealerships and one service center. Hudson Automotive Group plans to rename these storefronts as Volkswagen of Spartanburg, Spartanburg Honda, Subaru of Spartanburg, Mazda of Spartanburg and Ford/Lincoln of Spartanburg. The transaction amount and the involvement of any buy-sell advisor were not disclosed in the release.
Vic Bailey Automotive has been in business for over 54 years and has achieved substantial success within South Carolina. “We are grateful to our loyal customers, as well as our dedicated employees who have made our business such a huge success,” remarked Vic Bailey III in a statement. “The Hudson Automotive Group has a great reputation, and we know that our legacy of dealerships will be left in good hands.”
Once the acquisition of Vic Bailey Automotive is finalized, Hudson Automotive Group will own more than 50 dealerships, including two already located in the South Carolina market. “We are very honored and excited to add the Vic Bailey Automotive dealerships to our growing portfolio in the southeast,” wrote the group’s President, David Hudson. “These are great brands in a market that we like and know very well and will expand our footprint in the upstate along with Spartanburg Toyota and Lexus of Greenville.”
The transaction highlights the slowly accelerating pace of automotive mergers and acquisitions in 2023. Larger dealership groups that had slowed down growth efforts during the COVID pandemic have started to revive their M&A activities in response to a stronger-than-expected car market and a resilient post-pandemic economy. The year has already seen several record-breaking buyouts involving some of the largest and most successful dealerships, with more certain to arrive before 2024.
