Cavender Auto Family to buy 6 stores from Alderson Auto Group

Cavender Auto Family has signed a purchase agreement to buy Alderson Auto Group's six luxury stores in Texas that will double Cavender's store count and add nearly 20 percent in annual revenue.

The companies on Monday announced the pending transaction to employees.

Rick Cavender, vice president of the San Antonio dealership group with six stores in Texas, said Alderson's CEO and owner, David Alderson, reached out about six months ago, asking if the group had an interest in buying his stores. Cavender's brother Stephen is president of the auto group and dealer principal.

The Alderson group has been in business more than 70 years, founded in 1949 with a Cadillac store.

Alderson's dealerships are in Lubbock and Midland. They include Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz stores in Lubbock and a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Midland.

David Alderson, the group's third-generation operator and former chairperson of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, wrote in a message to employees that the "most important item for me was to make sure the next automobile family to work with our associates and our clients and the relationships we have established over the past 72 years was just that, an outstanding Texas automobile family," according to kcbd.com.

Rick Cavender said the deal still requires automaker approvals and that the parties hope to close on the transaction in 90 to 120 days. He said his family, in the auto business for 83 years, would carry on and continue the legacy of the Alderson group.

"We really felt cultural alignment and our message to the employees ... was that we will continue to build on the legacy that Mr. Alderson has presented you all in Lubbock, not only as a great businessman but a community steward as well," Rick Cavender said.

Cavender Auto has two Toyota dealerships and an Audi store and in 2019 added Ford, Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram and Chevrolet-Buick-GMC stores. It also has a Polaris outlet, a Carquest auto parts store and an insurance company. Last year, the group generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

Cavender Auto Family ranks No. 65 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 13,543 new vehicles in 2020.