LMP Automotive Holdings' sale of 6 dealerships terminated

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc.'s pending sale of six dealerships across Florida and West Virginia has been terminated in the latest setback for the small auto retailer.

LMP said in a news release late Wednesday that the buyer, revealed as Atlantic Coast Automotive Group in an August regulatory filing, terminated the dealership and real estate asset sale agreements. It was not clear why the deal was terminated or when.

"I'm unable to provide comments at this time," Ali Ahmed of Atlantic Coast Automotive wrote in an email to Automotive News.

LMP's stock, which is now traded over the counter, plunged 32 percent to $6.20 a share around 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

In the regulatory filing, LMP said it entered into asset purchase agreements with Atlantic Coast Automotive on Aug. 5 for its Florida Kia dealerships in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral, plus Kia and Subaru stores in Mount Hope, W.Va., a Chevrolet dealership in Oak Hill, W.Va., and a Buick-GMC store in Beckley, W.Va.

LMP also said Wednesday that its two Kia dealerships near Florida's Gulf Coast, which were acquired from Fuccillo Automotive Group in 2021, "did not suffer material damages" during Hurricane Ian and "are fully operational."

In August, LMP said it anticipated cash proceeds of $133 million from the Atlantic Coast deal, which was slated to close by Oct. 31, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the Wednesday release, LMP said it will remarket the six dealerships and "pursue entering into new sale agreements" within the next few months. LMP, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which just 18 months ago had plans to acquire 80 to 100 dealerships by the end of 2022, said it continues to move forward with its liquidation plan, also revealed in August.

"The board and the management team all believe that, given the diversified nature of our portfolio, pursuing multiple transactions with different potential buyers for assets or groups of assets presents the best opportunity to maximize stockholder value as well as to maximize the net proceeds to be distributed to shareholders upon completion of the plan of liquidation," LMP CEO Samer Tawfik said in a statement.

In July, LMP said it would sell its Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in White Plains, N.Y., with a closing expected this month.

Last month, LMP in a news release said that it had entered into agreements to sell its only other franchised dealership, a General Motors store, and related real estate in Greeneville, Tenn. LMP, which did not identify the buyer, said it expected to close on that transaction in November, pending several closing conditions.

Growing list of terminated deals

The now terminated Atlantic Coast Automotive transaction is just the latest in a series of busted deals involving LMP.

LMP's highest-profile deal, to buy a majority stake in 16 dealerships from Atlantic Automotive Group, was cut to eight stores before ultimately being scrapped last year.

In January, LMP said its planned acquisition of a Hyundai dealership in West Virginia was terminated on Dec. 31. LMP's deal to acquire five import dealerships in Texas fell through Jan. 31.

In mid-February, LMP said it planned to terminate pending purchases of numerous dealerships across New York, Tennessee, Connecticut, Florida and Texas.