Schomp, Foundation Automotive buy stores in Colorado; Skyway Auto buys in Oklahoma

Two dealership groups have expanded their presence in Colorado, while a relatively new group owned by the founder of Bad Boy Mowers made its second dealership acquisition in the central U.S.

Here's a look at three transactions involving import-brand stores. One deal involved an Automotive News top 150 dealership group.

Schomp Automotive Group bolstered its Denver-area presence on Monday when it bought its first Nissan dealership.

Schomp of Highlands Ranch, Colo., acquired Empire Littleton Nissan from Chris Lenckosz and renamed the store Schomp Nissan.

"It's in Denver, so we see it as sort of a tuck-in to our existing operations," said Michael Dunlap, Schomp's vice president of business development.

Dunlap said Schomp has seven other dealerships in the Denver area.

"We already have sort of the headquarters and the scale to be able to absorb it. It's in the south side of Denver where our home base is; where we already have three stores and a pretty significant customer base," he said. "The price was right, frankly. I mean it's no secret that Nissan has had its struggles of late, but we see the brand on the rebound. There was value in the deal that we thought provided a pretty good return on our cash."

The group said it plans to build a new showroom and a six-lane service drive, with construction set to begin this year and wrap up by late 2022.

Schomp noted that it hired Brian Singh as the dealership's managing partner. Singh was named one of Automotive News' 40 Under 40 in 2020.

Last month, Schomp entered California when it opened BMW of Fairfield, east of Napa, which was an open point, Dunlap said. An "open point" refers to a location an automaker has identified for opening a store.

In February, Schomp acquired a Ford dealership in Aurora, Colo. Last year, it bought Porsche Salt Lake City in a partnership with Elway Group.

Schomp now has 11 dealerships across California, Colorado and Utah. It ranks No. 104 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 8,726 new vehicles in 2020.

National Business Brokers represented Schomp in the Nissan transaction.

Colorado growth
Growing Canadian dealership group Foundation Automotive Corp. has acquired its second Colorado Hyundai dealership in about two months.

Foundation Automotive, based in Calgary, Alberta, bought Boulder Hyundai on July 29 from dealer Jeff Baca, who is retiring. The dealership has been renamed Foundation Hyundai of Boulder.

"There's great opportunity in the Boulder area, especially with the brand, Hyundai," said Cole Kutschinski, Foundation's vice president of marketing. "We feel like it's a very strong demographic with Hyundai's new line of products. They had a great reputation in the community. Jeff was an outstanding pillar of the community. The opportunity came up, and it definitely fit within our profile."

In May, Foundation acquired AutoNation Hyundai 104 in Northglenn, Colo., north of Denver, and moved it about 2 miles away to Westminster, renaming it Foundation Hyundai. The Boulder location is about a half-hour's drive northwest of the Westminster store.

Foundation now has eight dealerships in Colorado.

Josh Letis, managing partner of Foundation's Medved Autoplex — which includes Cadillac, Chevrolet and Kia stores in Wheat Ridge as well as the Hyundai dealership in Westminster — also will be managing partner of the Boulder Hyundai store.

Foundation Hyundai of Boulder is the group's 21st overall store. It has three dealerships in Canada and 18 in the U.S. across Colorado, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas. It also owns a commercial truck upfitting center in Texas.

Foundation, led by CEO Kevin Kutschinski, Cole's father, continues to aim for aggressive growth in 2021. The group, in a release, said it expects "to close on another 16 dealerships this year," which would nearly double its store count.

Oklahoma acquisition
Skyway Auto Group, owned by lawn mower manufacturer Bad Boy Inc. founder Phillip Pulley, purchased a Honda dealership last month in Oklahoma.

Skyway on July 12 bought Honda of Bartlesville, north of Tulsa, from dealer Hal Steinke. The store has been renamed Skyway Honda.

The Skyway group also owns Skyway Buick-GMC in Joplin, Mo., which was purchased in October 2019, said Skyway CFO David Brogdon, also president of Bad Boy Mowers.

In December 2019, Houston private equity company Sterling Group bought a stake in Bad Boy of Batesville, Ark., northeast of Little Rock, Ark. Pulley still owns part of the lawn mower manufacturing company and also sits on its board, Brogdon said.

Brogdon said Skyway is looking to buy more dealerships that are "within an hour plane" ride of Little Rock. He said that he is looking at some deals but has nothing under contract.

Ozog Consulting Group represented the seller in the transaction.