LMP adds its name to list of public retailers

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. spent $93.1 million to buy five franchised dealerships and three used-vehicle stores this month as it joins the ranks of just six other publicly traded franchised auto retailers, plus a few conglomerates with dealership holdings.

LMP, a used-car and vehicle subscription company that went public in December 2019 and has aspirations to roll up dozens of dealerships, bought two Florida Kia stores in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral from Fuccillo Automotive Group for $68.5 million. It also bought 85 percent stakes in Beckley Buick-GMC Automall, King Coal Chevrolet in Oak Hill, Hometown Kia in Mount Hope and three used-vehicle stores, all in West Virginia, for $24.6 million.

The West Virginia dealership sellers, Ernie Davis and Lori Davis, will continue to operate the stores, LMP COO Richard Aldahan said.

Aldahan told Automotive News on March 5 that LMP was "waiting for a couple approvals" from automakers to close on other stores it has under contract.

Those deals are 85 percent stakes in a Hyundai store, a Subaru dealership and two used-vehicle stores, all in West Virginia; and 100 percent of a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership in Tennessee.

"We're absolutely thrilled to be a public dealer group and looking to adding other stores in the near future," Aldahan said.
Asbury Automotive Group Inc. was the last of the six other public dealership groups to go public in 2002.

Other publicly traded companies have franchised dealership holdings such as conglomerate Graham Holdings Co., with three stores via a partnership with Chris Ourisman of Ourisman Automotive Group. The Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate includes Berkshire Hathaway Automotive Inc. with 81 dealerships.

LMP, in a regulatory filing, said it used cash and funds provided through a credit agreement with Truist Bank to pay for the acquisitions. They come after the termination of two planned deals — purchases of a majority stake in a Toyota store in Newnan, Ga., and of eight Atlantic Automotive Group dealerships in New York. Aldahan said LMP is considering numerous other acquisitions. "We have an incredibly robust pipeline," he said.