Nissan, Hyundai, Stellantis, Ford and Chevy dealerships change hands in 5 deals

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reference Dillon Clark's last name.

Six dealerships traded hands in five separate transactions in the first, second and third quarters.

Here's a look at the deals involving import and domestic dealerships and stores in Texas, Louisiana, Oregon and Minnesota.

McGavock Auto Group dealership acquired after failed sale to LMP

One of McGavock Auto Group's Texas dealerships that was slated to be included in a failed sale to auto retailer LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. has sold to a different owner.

Steve McGavock and his son Brent McGavock of McGavock Auto on June 1 sold McGavock Nissan Abilene to Dillon Clark and partners Trey Patterson, William Sparks and Richard Traweek, Dillon said.

The store was renamed Clark Nissan of Abilene and is Clark's first dealership.

LMP in September 2021 said it planned to buy four Nissan dealerships in Abilene, Amarillo, San Marcos and Lubbock and an Infiniti store in Lubbock from Steve McGavock, principal of McGavock Auto.

The deal was terminated on Jan. 31 and LMP said McGavock would keep the $1.5 million deposit LMP made for the stores, per terms of the contract.

"When they backed out, we reached out to a broker to ask to reach out to them," Clark told Automotive News.

That broker was Chris Cobb, managing director of the western U.S. for buy-sell firm SAR Partners of Lake Mary, Fla., Clark said.

Clark said he had worked for Patterson at his Nissan dealership in Longview, Texas, before he spent two years overseeing Ford and Hyundai dealerships in Manhattan, Kan., for Patterson. Those two stores ultimately were sold in June 2021 by Patterson and two partners to Max Motors Dealerships.

It was "six years to the day from when I first started selling cars [that] we bought this store," Clark said.

Clark said he was able to retain 95 percent of the dealership's staff and plans to continue to grow.

Giles Automotive acquires first Hyundai dealership

Giles Automotive Inc. of Lafayette, La., acquired its first Hyundai dealership in June when it bought M&M Hyundai in Alexandria, La., about 90 miles north of Lafayette.

Dealer Bob Giles, chairman of Giles Automotive and 2022 Time Dealer of the Year, now has five dealerships in Louisiana and one in Texas.

The dealership was renamed Giles Hyundai.

Giles is majority owner and dealer principal of the Hyundai store, while Ryan LeBlanc, president of Giles Automotive, said he owns a minority stake in the Hyundai dealership.

"Alexandria is a market with a lot of potential, and the Hyundai brand is up and coming and has a ton of potential," LeBlanc said in a phone interview.

The transaction closed on June 13, LeBlanc said. The sellers were dealership president and majority owner Oliver McMickens and his sons, Ricky McMickens, general manager, and Mark McMickens, service manager.

LeBlanc said it was the family business' only dealership.

The sons owned minority stakes in the dealership, according to an agenda item for a July 11 Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission meeting to approve a business ownership and name-change request regarding Giles Hyundai.

Time Auto expands in Oregon

Time Auto Group bolstered its Oregon presence last month with the purchase of its first Stellantis store.

Time Auto on Aug. 18 bought Gresham Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram from Boyland Auto Group CEO Dorian Boyland and partner Daniel Kaiser. The dealership was renamed Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Gresham. Gresham is east of Portland, where Time Auto is based.

"We came into this year and we didn't really have M&A on our forecast," Time Auto CEO Daniel Crainic told Automotive News. "But then there were some pretty big changes that happened in the market. It's been an incredible time for us to acquire some phenomenal assets and I've never been more excited about Time Auto Group and our pipeline."

The acquisition is Time Auto's first since June 2021, when it bought a Subaru store and a Honda dealership in southern Oregon, Crainic confirmed. The group also owns Volvo, Nissan and Mitsubishi stores, as well as a used-vehicle dealership that specializes in European luxury brands, all in Oregon.

Crainic noted he's open to expanding outside of Oregon.

"Overall, I'm very committed to the top line growth, but also very committed to the bottom line growth," Crainic said. "And we'll continue to do that while being able to participate in this M&A environment."

The Gresham dealership was the first store that Boyland had purchased, according to Performance Brokerage Services Inc., an Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm. Moshe Stopnitzky, president of Performance Brokerage Services, along with Jason Stopnitzky, the company's co-founder, handled the transaction.

Boyland is a former MLB player who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976. He spent seven years with the Pirates organization, which included the Portland Beavers, a minor-league affiliate.

It was there that Boyland met Ron Tonkin, the late founder of Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships in Portland, who was an owner of the Beavers. Boyland joined Tonkin's group and in the mid-1980s, Tonkin acquired a Dodge dealership in Gladstone, Ore., and Boyland was named dealer principal and received an ownership stake. Boyland later sold his stake in the Dodge store to Tonkin and acquired Gresham Dodge, according to a 2011 Automotive News article.

Boyland Auto became one of the largest Black-owned dealership groups in the country and Boyland operated 22 dealerships in six states, according to Performance Brokerage Services.

The Gresham dealership was Boyland's last in Oregon, Jason Stopnitzky confirmed, noting Boyland still owns two dealerships in Wisconsin and one in Florida.

Billion Automotive buys three dealerships in Minnesota

Billion Automotive of Sioux Falls, S.D., purchased three Minnesota dealerships in March and April, including Ford, Stellantis and Chevrolet stores, all from Marthaler Auto Group, according to The Globe.

Billion Automotive purchased Marthaler Ford of Worthington, Marthaler Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Worthington and Marthaler Chevrolet of Worthington. Worthington is east of Sioux Falls.

The group renamed the stores Billion Ford of Worthington, Billion Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Worthington and Billion Chevrolet of Worthington.

The Ford and Stellantis dealerships sold on March 23, while the Chevrolet store closed on April 8, according to The Globe. A Ford spokeswoman confirmed the Ford dealership transaction date.

The dealerships are Billion Automotive's only dealerships in Minnesota. Billion Automotive has more than a dozen other dealerships in South Dakota and Iowa.

Marthaler Auto lists six dealerships in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin on its website.