Ed Morse Automotive bolsters Illinois footprint

Ed Morse Automotive Group of Delray Beach, Fla., one of the largest dealership groups in the country, continued its expansion in the Midwest with the acquisition of three Illinois stores in two May transactions.

And the deals further bolster the group's domestic brand store offerings.

Ed Morse Automotive on May 10 bought Crowe Ford in Geneseo, Ill., and Crowe Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Kewanee, Ill., from George Koustas, Ed Morse Automotive CEO Teddy Morse said.

The stores were renamed Ed Morse Ford and Ed Morse Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram. Koustas stayed on as general manager of both stores but has no ownership stake, Morse noted.

Less than two weeks later, Ed Morse Automotive on May 22 bought Motor City Chevrolet-GMC, also in Kewanee, from Eric Ellenberger.

The dealership previously had a Buick franchise, but Morse said Ellenberger had gotten rid of the brand before the transaction.

That store was renamed Ed Morse Chevrolet-GMC.

Geneseo and Kewanee are both in northwest Illinois, near the Iowa border. The proximity was a draw to the group, Morse said.

"The reason we bought these is it tied into the stores that we already had in Iowa," Morse told Automotive News, referring to the group's stores in Muscatine and DeWitt, which it bought in March 2022. Muscatine and DeWitt are both near Davenport.

The new Geneseo and Kewanee stores are about 30 minutes to an hour east of Davenport, Morse noted.

"It's kind of in that area," Morse said. "We already had a small footprint there, so this just adds on to that."

Since entering Missouri in May 2021 with the purchase of four stores in two deals, Ed Morse Automotive has purchased eight stores across Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. Its most recent acquisition before the Illinois deals was a Chevrolet store in Missouri in February.

Morse said he didn't anticipate growing so fast in the region, but he said opportunities kept popping up.

All the dealerships Ed Morse Automotive has purchased in those states have been domestic brands — and that's by design, Morse said.

"In those areas in the Heartland, so to speak, domestics is where you want to be," Morse said. "And especially in those areas which are dominated by farming and agriculture, they want trucks. When you're talking about trucks, Ford, Chevy, GMC and Ram cover the vast majority of the market."

Scott Mackie, senior vice president of the Midwest region for buy-sell firm National Business Brokers in Irvine, Calif., handled the Crowe dealerships transaction.

Mark Shackelford and Paul Kechnie, partners representing Midwest and Texas regions for buy-sell firm Performance Brokerage Services, also of Irvine, Calif., facilitated the May 22 transaction.

Ed Morse Automotive ranks No. 52 on Automotive News' most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 14,832 new vehicles in 2022.