Marthaler, Menke expand in Wisconsin
Marthaler Auto Group, led by CEO Aaron Marthaler, has grown to eight dealerships in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, aided by last summer’s purchase of two dealerships in Schofield, Wis., in the middle of the state.
The group purchased the former Fred Mueller Automotive, a Buick-GMC store, and Fred Mueller Mazda in partnership with minority owner and dealer principal Jay Menke. Menke was a seasoned general manager for the Marthaler group, of Glenwood, Minn.
The dealerships were renamed Menke Buick-GMC and Menke Mazda. Broker Paul Kechnie, of the Texas and Midwest region of Performance Brokerage Services, a buy-sell firm in Irvine, Calif., facilitated the transaction.
The buyers “like the brands, they like the size of that particular city,” Kechnie said in a phone interview. “Aaron is already in Wisconsin. It makes sense to keep expanding there.”
The transaction closed Aug. 25, and the selling dealer was Fred Mueller, who retired, Kechnie said.
Aaron Marthaler, in a separate phone interview, said Menke previously was part owner and general manager of two dealerships in Worthington, Minn. — the former Marthaler Ford of Worthington and Marthaler Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Worthington.
The Marthaler group sold those dealerships in March 2022 to Billion Automotive of Sioux Falls, S.D. Menke relocated to Wisconsin to run the new additions, Aaron Marthaler said.
Ed Martin Automotive adds pair of stores
Two family businesses involved in a two-store transaction in Anderson, Ind., in January were indirect competitors in the same market for decades. But they knew and respected each other, so it was only natural that Ed Martin Automotive Group would be the one to buy the stores when the sellers decided to divest, according to Mark Harrison, president and dealer principal for Ed Martin Automotive, of Indianapolis.
Harrison said in a phone interview that his wife, Kathy Martin Harrison, is CEO of the group. Her father, Ed Martin, who died in 2005, was the group’s founder.
Ed Martin Automotive on Jan. 30 purchased the former Myers Autoworld, a Buick-GMC dealership, and Ford Autoworld. They were renamed Ed Martin Buick-GMC of Anderson and Ed Martin Ford. Anderson is northeast of Indianapolis.
“We’ve known each other since the mid-’80s, and we’ve both had stores in Anderson forever,” Mark Harrison said. He said Ed Martin Automotive retained nearly all the employees, which also contributed to an amicable sale.
He said he was particularly keen to get the Ford store. The Ed Martin group previously had a Ford store but sold it years ago.
“The impetus behind this purchase was really to get the Ford brand and get it back in our family,” he said.
The sellers for both dealerships were Mary Jamerson, CEO, and Pamela Hockema, a minority shareholder who “was not active in the dealerships,” according to lawyer Geoffrey Grodner.
The sellers do not own any other new-car dealerships, but “Mrs. Jamerson does retain an interest in a small used-vehicle dealership,” Grodner said in an email.
Grodner and Erick Gjerdingen of Mallor Grodner law firm represented the sellers in the deal, while Jeffrey Abrams, a partner in Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm, represented the buyer.
“It was a natural,” Mark Harrison said of the transaction. “I think the employees also felt better about it, rather than bringing in some big corporation from Florida or somewhere.”
