AutoNation completes acquisition of Priority 1 Automotive, adds 9 stores in Maryland

AutoNation Inc. on Monday closed on the purchase of nine Maryland dealerships from Priority 1 Automotive Group in a deal the auto retail giant announced last month.

Lou Cohen, president of Priority 1 Automotive of Towson, Md., confirmed the closing to Automotive News.

AutoNation previously said the acquisition, which includes three collision centers, will add $420 million in annual revenue. It comes in a region where the nation's largest new-vehicle retailer has several stores.

This transaction of luxury dealerships marks AutoNation's second large dealership purchase of the year. To date, AutoNation has acquired 20 dealerships in 2021. In September, AutoNation closed on the acquisition of 11 dealerships in South Carolina and Georgia from Peacock Automotive Group.

Three Priority 1 stores were renamed: AutoNation Acura Hunt Valley, AutoNation Cadillac Hunt Valley and Mini of Towson. The other six — Audi Ownings Mills, BMW of Bel Air, BMW of Rockville, BMW of Towson, Jaguar-Land Rover Hunt Valley and Porsche Towson — retain their names.

Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Irvine, Calif., represented Priority 1 in the transaction.

AutoNation, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ranks No. 1 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 249,654 new vehicles in 2020.