After acquisitions, Asbury to sell 2 Lexus dealerships

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. must sell two Lexus dealerships because last week's acquisition of Stevinson Automotive and the pending Larry H. Miller Dealerships transaction will put its luxury-brand store count over its cap with the manufacturer, CEO David Hult said.

The mega Larry H. Miller Dealerships transaction is on track to close this month, Hult said.

The Lexus outlets aren't the only stores Asbury may sell following the December acquisition closings. Asbury expects it may have to sell a few other dealerships stemming from a density issue with another manufacturer, Hult said.

He told Automotive News last week the nation's sixth-largest new-vehicle retailer signed the deal to buy Stevinson Automotive, with eight Denver-area stores including two Lexus outlets, before it landed the deal to buy Larry H. Miller Dealerships' 54 franchised dealerships with three Lexus stores.

Hult said high-performing dealership groups can have up to eight Lexus dealerships nationally under framework agreements. Asbury had five before the Stevinson and pending Larry H. Miller Dealerships transactions, Hult said.

"This will give us 10," he said. "So we'll be required to sell two stores."

Hult said Asbury has determined which of the two Lexus stores it will sell but declined to identify them.

When Asbury acquired Park Place Dealerships in 2020, which included two Lexus dealerships in Dallas, it also ran into a framework issue with Lexus.

"We had to sell our South Carolina store because we couldn't have five stores in a region, and South Carolina and Dallas, Texas, were considered the same region," Hult said.

Hult said he expects the dealership divestitures to happen in the first quarter.

Asbury announced in September that it had entered into an agreement to buy Larry H. Miller, the eighth-largest new-vehicle retailer, for $3.2 billion. The deal also includes seven used-vehicle dealerships, 11 collision centers and finance and insurance provider Total Care Auto.

"We feel confident that it will close before the end of the year," Hult said.

John Huetter contributed to this report.