Troy Duhon and his bustling Premier Automotive Group, together with companions, acquired three new dealerships and expanded into a brand new state in second- and third-quarter transactions, Premier Automotive CMO Gia Katzenmeyer confirmed to Automotive Information.
Duhon, with companions Vincent Castro and Jorge Clue, on June 5 bought the previous Hyundai of Moreno Valley, east of Los Angeles.
Castro and Clue every have an undisclosed possession stake within the renamed Premier Hyundai of Moreno Valley, whereas Clue is common supervisor, Katzenmeyer stated in an e mail.
“Castro has been with Premier Automotive since its inception in 1995,” Katzenmeyer stated. “He is the companion in quite a few dealerships underneath the Premier umbrella.”
Texas retailer
The New Orleans group additionally bolstered its Texas presence on Aug. 3 when Duhon, with companions Randon Blacklock and Rick Martinez, bought the previous Littlefield Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, northwest of Lubbock.
Blacklock and Martinez have undisclosed possession stakes within the retailer renamed Premier Chevrolet-GMC of Littlefield and Martinez is common supervisor. Katzenmeyer stated Blacklock and Martinez are also companions with Premier at different Texas shops.
Katzenmeyer stated confidentiality agreements prohibit Premier from disclosing the sellers of the California and Texas shops.
A LinkedIn profile for Michael Brown lists him as president of Hyundai of Moreno Valley and Brown is listed underneath house owners, certified managers and principals on California’s Bureau of Automotive Restore web site offering licensing data for Hyundai of Moreno Valley.
Brown didn’t instantly return a message looking for remark and a Hyundai spokesman referred Automotive Information to Premier Automotive.
The Lamb County Chief-Information, in a Could 2022 article, recognized Tim Capps because the then-owner of Littlefield Chevrolet-Buick-GMC. Capps didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Katzenmeyer stated Buick didn’t include the Littlefield retailer acquisition. Buick in 2022 introduced it might supply buyouts for sellers who did not wish to make crucial investments for electrical autos.
Premier Automotive’s most up-to-date transaction concerned one other acquainted face: Tim Barnett.
Georgia acquisition
Duhon with Barnett on Aug. 17 bought the previous Steve Rayman Nissan Auto Mall of Georgia, in Buford, from a retiring Steve Rayman.
Barnett is a companion with an undisclosed possession stake in that retailer, Katzenmeyer stated.
Rayman stated in an announcement that he appreciates Premier’s status for giving again and his previous relationship with Barnett helped assist the deal.
“As soon as I absolutely selected retiring at 70 years outdated, it gave me belief that I might step away figuring out the shop was in essentially the most succesful and caring fingers,” Rayman stated within the assertion.
Renamed Premier Nissan Mall of Georgia, the shop is northeast of Atlanta and is Premier Automotive’s first in Georgia.
Premier Automotive has added seven dealerships and entered three new states this 12 months, with Virginia and Mississippi being the others.
Duhon and Barnett partnered to purchase three dealerships in Virginia in February. And in March, Duhon and Premier acquired a 49 % stake within the former Charlie Henderson Ford in Waveland, Miss., with companion Anthony Legeaux, who has a 51 % stake within the retailer now known as Premier Ford.
Duhon advised Automotive Information in an e mail that he finds working with companions useful, particularly when opening new shops.
“For the primary time in my automotive profession, we’re seeing heritage and generational shops coming out there … and now we have been blessed with a tremendous crew of companions who’ve the expertise and pleasure to step into these shops instantly and achieve success,” Duhon stated.
Duhon stated discovering a dealership acquisition is not the problem however having “a well-groomed and ready crew to function these shops correctly and profitably as now we have been, is the important thing.”
Premier Automotive ranks No. 43 on Automotive Information’ listing of the highest 150 dealership teams within the U.S., retailing 18,792 new autos in 2022.
And the rising group would not plan on slowing down.
“The Premier acquisition crew stays very busy and lively, with extra acquisitions to be introduced,” Katzenmeyer stated.