Hudson Automotive buys first Mercedes dealerships

Hudson Automotive Group on Tuesday entered the Cincinnati market with the acquisition of its first Mercedes-Benz dealerships following a July announcement on the pending transaction. But the group bought one fewer of the luxury brand stores than planned.

Hudson Automotive, of Charleston, S.C., bought Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati and Mercedes-Benz of West Chester, both in Ohio, from Peterson Automotive Collection.

A third dealership, Mercedes-Benz of Louisville in Kentucky, was not part of the closing, Hudson Automotive CEO David Hudson told Automotive News. Hudson declined to comment on why the Louisville store wasn't included in Tuesday's acquisition, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Hudson Automotive in July said it planned to buy all three dealerships by mid-September.

The Louisville store is set to be sold to Jeff Wyler Automotive Family Inc. in a separate transaction expected to close this month, said Mike Sims, president of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a buy-sell firm in Frisco, Texas. Sims, along with Bill Scrivner, represented Peterson Automotive in the sale to Hudson, and they are representing Peterson in the sale of the Louisville store to the Jeff Wyler group.

Jeff Wyler Automotive, of Milford, Ohio, also owns Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell in Kentucky, near Cincinnati.

Jeff Wyler Automotive ranked No. 38 on Automotive News' most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 21,592 new vehicles in 2020.

For Hudson Automotive, the acquisition follows its November purchase of Dick Dyer Toyota in Columbia, S.C., and its June purchase of Hoover Toyota in Alabama. At the end of August, it sold Murfreesboro Volkswagen in Tennessee to Victory Automotive Group.

With the two Mercedes-Benz dealerships, Hudson Automotive has 35 rooftops, including a used-vehicle store, across Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Ohio.

While Peterson Automotive owner David Peterson is retiring, Ed Keady, managing partner, is staying on with Hudson Automotive in the same role at the two Ohio stores, Hudson said. Keady still has a minority ownership stake in those locations, Hudson said.