One of the country’s largest private dealership groups may have been created after Holman Automotive Group Inc. acquired Kuni Automotive. This new group will have 33 dealerships in eight states and will have a projected annual revenue of about $3 billion.
Holman, of Maple Shade, N.J., has dealerships in its home state, Pennsylvania and Florida. Kuni, of Vancouver, Wash., has stores in its home state, Oregon, California, Colorado and Kansas. Most of the new dealerships will be situated along the East Coast and West Coast. Holman is one of the most notable dealerships in the U.S. with retail sales of 18,604 new vehicles in 2015. Kuni's retail sales are of 15,163 new vehicles in 2015. If combined these results become even more impressive.
Kuni’s majority shareholder, a charitable foundation established by its founder in 2005 to fund cancer research and build housing for developmentally disabled adults, is to benefit as a result of the deal. More than half of the deal’s proceeds will go toward the Wayne D. Kuni and Joan E. Kuni Foundation. Further details of the deal, that is to be finalized this summer, were not disclosed.
Mark Johnson, president of MD Johnson Inc., which advised Kuni on the sale, called the deal the “largest private capital purchase of a dealership group ever.” It was also announced that Kuni CEO Greg Goodwin will remain with Holman in a leadership position. Holman’s chief strategy officer, William Cariss, will oversee the deal and will then be charged with identifying other “investment opportunities” for Holman to pursue.
