Lithia Motors buys 10 dealerships in Florida, Nevada

Lithia Motors Inc. purchased 10 dealerships across southern Florida and Nevada, which it says will add $950 million in expected annual revenue to the growing company.

Lithia said Tuesday that it bought seven Lehman Auto World dealerships in southern Florida and Esserman International Acura and Esserman International Volkswagen dealership in Doral, Fla., marking its largest transaction of the year.

With the Lehman purchase, Lithia acquired Largo Honda in Florida City, Doral Hyundai-Genesis, Doral Kia, Lehman Mitsubishi in Miami, Lehman Buick-GMC in Miami Gardens, Lehman Hyundai-Genesis in Miami Gardens and Lehman Subaru in Miami Gardens.

Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., represented Bill Lehman Jr. in the sale of his dealerships. The Esserman family sold the two dealerships to Lithia, Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners, told Automotive News.

The Lehman and Esserman transactions closed Monday.

The Florida acquisitions are expected to add $850 million in annual revenue, Lithia said.

The auto retail giant on Monday also bought Henderson Hyundai Superstore/Genesis of Henderson near Las Vegas from Frank Maione, according to DCG Acquisitions, a Dave Cantin Group company that handled the transaction. Dave Cantin and George Pero from the firm were brokers.

That Hyundai-Genesis store is expected to add $100 million in estimated annual revenue.

Lithia entered the Las Vegas market last year, buying Hyundai dealerships and a Genesis store.

Bryan DeBoer, Lithia CEO, said he was thrilled to add the dealerships and new teammates to the company.

"The Lehman family has deep roots in south Florida, serving the community for over 86 years," DeBoer said in a statement. "Under its leadership, the stores have achieved a reputation for earning lifelong customers with their impeccable level of service."

Lithia said it paid for the store purchases with available funding from its balance sheet.

The auto retailer said that with the Florida and Nevada purchases, it has acquired dealerships this year that are expected to add $2.1 billion in annual revenue.

In separate acquisitions this year, Lithia bought three California dealerships in January and three Las Vegas dealerships in March. In Canada, Lithia bought a Honda dealership near Toronto last month. The retailer also has sold some dealerships this year.

Separately, the company said Tuesday that it has repurchased about 1.9 million shares, or about 6.5 percent of its shares outstanding, so far in the second quarter.

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranks No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 260,738 new vehicles in 2021.