“Both sides decided that we shouldn’t go through with the deal,” Dito said, adding there is “no bad blood” between them.
Dito said his company, run by dealer John Staluppi Sr., now plans to focus on its brand and improve results in 2021.
“We’re not going to sell our company at this time,” he said.
In January, LMP said it would spend $193 million in cash and $38 million in LMP stock to finance the deal that was to include one Hyundai-Genesis, one Chevrolet, two Toyota, two Honda and two Hyundai stores on Long Island, plus a vehicle storage facility. The company then said the transaction was expected to close in April pending closing conditions and automaker approvals.
LMP had said the Atlantic acquisition was expected to generate $655 million in revenue and $15 million in net income for LMP in 2021.
LMP shares closed up 8.8 percent Thursday to $23.96 a share.
Atlantic will pay a portion of the LMP’s costs on the transaction, LMP said, but that figure was not disclosed.
“LMP believes it can deploy capital more efficiently at significantly lesser multiples of income than what it was paying for Atlantic Automotive Group,” Aldahan said in the release. “We are in the process of considering other alternative strategic transactions in our stage two acquisition plan, including mergers.”
Aldahan said its first wave of franchised dealership acquisitions would close “in the coming weeks.”
That first stage includes eight franchised dealerships in West Virginia, Florida and Tennessee, plus five used-vehicle stores in West Virginia.
LMP told Automotive News in January that its first block of franchised store acquisitions would close that month.
The first stage of stores is expected to add revenue of up to $540 million and up to $21 million in net income a year, LMP CFO Evan Bernstein said.
The publicly traded retailer also said it hired KPMG as its auditor.
