Growing Key Auto Group acquired four dealerships in three transactions in the fourth and first quarters and appears to have entered three states in the process.
Key Auto, of Portsmouth, N.H., on Friday bought Boardwalk Acura in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., west of Atlantic City, from auto retail giant Group 1 Automotive Inc.
The dealership was renamed Key Acura of Atlantic City, according to Performance Brokerage Services Inc., an Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm. Gershon Rosenzweig and Matt Wilkins from Performance Brokerage facilitated the transaction.
Key Auto doesn’t have any other New Jersey dealerships listed on its website.
The Acura dealership generated $20 million in annual revenue, according to Pete DeLongchamps, Group 1’s senior vice president of manufacturer relations, financial services and public affairs.
The sale marked Group 1’s first U.S. dealership divestiture since it sold a Massachusetts Honda dealership in September, DeLongchamps confirmed.
Group 1, of Houston, ranks No. 4 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 154,714 new vehicles in 2022. Group 1’s sales figures include dealerships outside of the U.S.
And on Jan. 9, Key Auto bought Barber Ford of Hazleton and Barber Ford of Exeter, both in Pennsylvania, from Matt DePrimo, according to Performance Brokerage. Hazleton and Exeter both are in eastern Pennsylvania and south of Scranton.
The dealerships were renamed Key Ford of Hazleton and Key Ford of Exeter.
Rosenzweig and Wilkins of Performance Brokerage also facilitated the Pennsylvania transaction.
The two dealerships are the only Pennsylvania locations listed on Key Auto’s website.
In December, Key Auto also acquired an Acura dealership in the Western U.S.
The group on Dec. 14 bought Acura of Reno in Nevada from brothers Brad Tonkin and Ed Tonkin and renamed it Key Acura of Reno, according to Performance Brokerage.
Brad Tonkin and Ed Tonkin are the sons of the late legendary West Coast dealer Ron Tonkin, who was once NADA president. Ed Tonkin was NADA chairman in 2010. NADA changed the title of the leadership position to chairman in 1998.
In 2017, Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships sold most of its dealerships to Gee Automotive Cos. Acura of Reno, however, was one of a handful of stores not included in that transaction. The brothers still own a Ferrari-Maserati dealership in Oregon, Performance Brokerage noted.
Key Acura of Reno is the only Nevada location listed on Key Auto’s website.
Jason Stopnitzky, co-founder of Performance Brokerage and Jesse Stopnitzky, partner, facilitated the Nevada transaction.
Key Auto’s acquisitions follow an August purchase of a Ford store in Maine.
