PSD Automotive, Envision Motors among dealership buyers

Six dealerships across the U.S. changed ownership in December and January transactions that included one group's first Lexus dealership and another expanding group's first Honda store.

Here's a look at the deals involving luxury, import and domestic brands.

PSD Automotive Group bought its first Lexus dealership last month as part of a two-store acquisition in Connecticut, according to the broker who handled the sale.

PSD Automotive purchased David McDermott Lexus of New Haven and Dave McDermott Chevrolet, both in East Haven, on Jan. 18 from dealer David McDermott of McDermott Auto Group, who retired.

The two dealerships were the last that McDermott owned, according to Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners, along with partner Nathan Klebacha represented McDermott in the transaction.

"My family has been encouraging me for years to retire," McDermott said in a statement. "When the buy-sell market heated up, I decided that the time was right to sell the dealerships."

PSD Automotive is retaining the stores' names. The group, of Bridgewater, N.J., now has 33 dealerships, according to Haig Partners.

"I'd like to congratulate Dave McDermott as he begins his retirement," Patrick Dibre, owner of PSD Automotive, said in a statement. "Everything went very smoothly and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to represent Lexus and Chevrolet in southern Connecticut."

In May, PSD Automotive bought Partyka Chevrolet and Partyka Mazda, both in Hamden, Conn., from Lee Partyka.

Envision Motors, of West Covina, Calif., acquired California Honda and Toyota dealerships in December, marking the group's third Toyota store and first Honda outlet.

The growing auto group on Dec. 13 bought Piercey Honda and Piercey Toyota in Milpitas, near San Jose, from Bill Piercey and Tom Chadwell, according to Bill Scrivner of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a Frisco, Texas, buy-sell firm, which represented the sellers.

The stores were renamed Envision Toyota of Milpitas and Envision Honda of Milpitas.

"We want to be in Northern California," the group's CEO, Simon Sarriedine, told Automotive News.

Envision Motors was co-founded in 2018 by Sarriedine, who previously worked as an executive manager for Keyes Automotive Group, of Van Nuys, Calif., and Frank Zarabi, who heads a fashion company, among other business ventures. The Envision group has 10 dealerships in California and Arizona, according to its website.

In April, the group acquired a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in Cerritos, Calif., from Roger Penske Jr. of SoCal Penske Dealer Group, Sarriedine said.

Envision Motors also sells Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles and generates more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue, Sarriedine said.

"We are in a position to acquire stores this year [and] next year," Sarriedine said. "We're trying to get to $2 billion [in annual revenue] hopefully by this year."

Piercey and Chadwell have sold most of their dealerships in recent months. Piercey Automotive Group, of Irvine, Calif., still lists Honda World Westminster in California on its website.

In August, Lithia Motors Inc. bought Rock Honda in Fontana, Calif., from Piercey and Chadwell.

In September, Summit Automotive Partners bought Freedom Honda in Colorado Springs, Colo., from Piercey Automotive, and in October, Germain Automotive Group bought Piercey and Chadwell's Surprise Honda dealership in Arizona.

Matt Kuhn and Lisa Kuhn purchased their first dealership, Florence & White Ford in Smithville, Tenn., late last year.

The couple, who have focused on fleet and commercial vehicle sales and management, among other endeavors, bought the store Dec. 3 from sellers Jim Florence and James White.

Florence and White had owned the dealership for 15 years. Smithville is east of Nashville.

The store was renamed Galaxy Ford in honor of the Ford Galaxie cars built from 1959 to 1974.

Matt Kuhn and Lisa Kuhn are co-dealer principals and have plans to renovate and expand the dealership, Matt Kuhn said.

"I've been a car guy since birth. We've always wanted to have a franchised car dealership, mostly because we understand that business so well," he told Automotive News.

"We have somewhat of an unconventional approach, blending our other expertise and customer bases, giving them options on other vehicles."

Kuhn, who has worked in the automotive industry for 40 years, is CEO of Innovative Vehicle Solutions, of Ladson, S.C., which offers engineering, upfitting, manufacturing and consulting services for commercial and government vehicles. It is part of IVS International Co. He founded IVS in 2012 with his wife, Lisa, and their three sons.

Galaxy Ford's facility will be updated steadily over three years in accordance with Ford Motor Co.'s dealership agreement, Kuhn said.

He plans to retain the store's 22 employees and hire more at the clip of the business's growth. White will stay on as general sales manager, Kuhn said.

Buy-sell firm National Business Brokers, of Irvine, Calif., handled the transaction.

Ivette Dominguez Drawe, her husband, Michael Drawe, and partner Laissa Sanchez bought a Colorado Ford dealership in December to expand their portfolio in the state to three dealerships.

The trio purchased Spradley Ford in Pueblo on Dec. 20 from Larry Spradley. The dealership also had a Lincoln franchise, but that was not part of the transaction, Dominguez Drawe said.

The store was renamed Alpine Ford.

"We really wanted to grow in the state of Colorado," Dominguez Drawe told Automotive News. "There's a lot of public companies that are in Colorado, and there's been a lot of big purchases that have happened in Colorado. So it makes it a little bit challenging."

Dominguez Drawe said she and her partners are thrilled to have the store join her six other dealerships across Colorado, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma.

"We're very excited about the opportunity of being a Ford dealer in the state of Colorado," she said. "It's a great brand in this market."

In September, Dominguez Drawe, Drawe and Rick Jones bought an Acura dealership in Tulsa, Okla. In August, Dominguez Drawe, Drawe and Jones sold Highway Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in El Paso, Ill., southwest of Chicago.

Dominguez Drawe was named by Automotive News as one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2020. Sanchez, who was named an Automotive News' 40 Under 40 honoree last year, also is managing partner of Alpine Buick-GMC South in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Spradley family still operates Chevrolet, Hyundai and Kia stores in Pueblo, according to the group's website.

Hannah Lutz contributed to this report.