Larry H. Miller dealership chain sells for $3.2B

DULUTH, Georgia  — Larry H. Miller Group of Cos., a Utah-based chain of 54 automotive dealerships in the Western United States, is being acquired by Georgia’s Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG) for $3.2 billion.

“This acquisition will further diversify our total portfolio mix and add approximately $5.7 billion in expected annualized revenues, which positions us well to execute our five-year plan to generate $20 billion in annual revenue by 2025,” Asbury CEO David Hult said in a prepared statement. “With these acquisitions, we will exceed our previously published five-year target for M&A within the first year of the plan.”

LHM, founded by Larry and Gail Miller four decades ago, employs 5,300 workers at dealerships in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, California, and Washington.

“We are thrilled to grow our presence in these states that we believe have appealing economic and demographic growth opportunities while broadening our geographic reach. Our now national footprint, complemented by our digital purchasing capabilities in Clicklane, creates a truly expansive omni-channel platform of dealerships,” Hult’s statement said.

Along the Front Range, LHM has locations in Boulder, Colorado Springs and throughout the Denver metropolitan area.

The acquisition, which includes about $740 million of real estate, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Car dealerships with operations in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado have been a hot commodity of late in the M&A markets.

Utah-based Ken Garff Automotive Group last month bought the Spradley Barr Automotive Group in Northern Colorado for an undisclosed price.

Erlich Motors sold its Toyota dealerships in Greeley and Fort Morgan to McDonald Toyota of Littleton in June. McDonald also bought Ehrlich’s Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealership in Fort Morgan.

In December 2020, the Elway Dealership Group bought Co’s BMW and MINI of Loveland from the Van Herwaarden family. The Elway group had sold its Greeley store to Asbury Automotive Group, also in 2020.

In November 2019, the Tynan’s Nissan and Kia dealerships in Fort Collins sold to the Roger Weibel family of Longmont, which has multiple dealerships in Longmont as well as Greeley and Loveland.

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