Editor's note: The number of Tonkin dealerships being sold and retained was misstated in an earlier version of this story.
Gee Automotive Cos. will acquire 16 stores owned by the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships, creating one of the top U.S. dealership groups based on vehicle sales in 2015, the companies said late Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Ron Tonkin group’s annual revenue last year was $792 million.
In a statement, Gee Automotive CEO Ryan Gee said, “This acquisition unites two family-based businesses with common core values.”
It’s a case of a minnow swallowing a whale.
Gee Automotive, of Spokane, Wash., was founded in 1983. Gee has seven franchised dealerships in Washington, Oregon and Idaho selling new Honda, Subaru, Buick, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac and Kia vehicles.
Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships, of Portland, Ore., ranks No. 93 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealerships based in the U.S., with new-vehicle retail sales of 10,958 units in 2015. It owns 21 dealerships, mostly in the Portland area, selling 20 brands.
The Tonkin group is selling 16 of those dealerships. It is keeping Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo, which sells Ferrari and Maserati brands, two dealerships in the rural Portland area -- one selling Buick, GMC and Chevrolet and another selling Subaru -- and two dealerships in Reno, Nev., that sell Acura and Infiniti, said Ed Tonkin, co-president of the group.
After the acquisition closes, Gee Automotive Cos. will own 23 dealerships.
“Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” said Ed Tonkin, 62, co-president of the Ron Tonkin group, in a statement.
Brad Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin, will remain and be a platform president, the release said. The Tonkin name will remain on all of its dealerships, and the plan is to “grow and expand” in the Portland area, the press release said.
No. 2
The deal is the second-largest announced transaction this year in terms of revenue and total unit sales, said Erin Kerrigan, managing director of buy-sell advisory firm Kerrigan Advisors in Irvine, Calif.
The biggest transaction so far this year remains Holman Automotive Group Inc.’s purchase of Kuni Automotive in April. That group has projected annual revenue of about $3 billion and 33 dealerships in eight states, most along the East Coast and West Coast.
Before that transaction, Holman ranked No. 51 on the Automotive News list of the top 150 dealership groups, with retail sales of 18,604 new vehicles in 2015, while Kuni ranked No. 63, with retail sales of 15,163 new vehicles in 2015.
Ron Tonkin, founder of the Tonkin group, served as president of the National Automobile Dealers Association in 1989. His son, Ed Tonkin, was NADA chairman in 2010. NADA changed the title of the leadership position to chairman in 1998.
