“We’ve been looking in that market for a long time trying to find a point of entry,” Germain COO John Malishenko told Automotive News, adding that CEO Steve Germain has a home in the area.
The Arizona acquisition wasn’t the only dealership purchase last month for Germain.
On Oct. 6, it bought College Hills Honda in Wooster, Ohio, from dealer Bob Bressi. Malishenko said the store, renamed Germain Honda of College Hills, includes an attractive online parts business. Gary Russo of Team Russo was the broker in that deal.
In March, Germain bought from dealer Dan Hemm a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership and a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat dealership. Both stores are in Sidney, Ohio, northwest of Columbus. Many brands were new for the group.
“With that acquisition, we cover about 85 percent of the industry right now,” Malishenko said. “That was sort of our goal.”
