SALT LAKE CITY -

In what the company said is the largest acquisition in its history, Larry H. Miller Dealerships has bought seven stores in Arizona.

The group said Monday it purchased three stores in Avondale and four in Tucson. Those stores are:

Avondale Chrysler, Jeep
Avondale Dodge, Ram
Avondale Fiat
Tucson Dodge, Ram
Tucson Chrysler, Jeep
Tucson Fiat
Tucson Volkswagen.

The group’s store count will now include 19 different brands across 55 locations in seven Western states. The company expects its overall volume will climb about 15 percent thanks to the additions.

It also adds an additional market (Tucson) to the group’s footprint.

“Larry H. Miller Dealerships is committed to growth, being a good community partner, and providing meaningful employment to members of the communities where we conduct business,” said president Dean Fitzpatrick.

The stores were purchased from Doug Moreland and John Grant. Negotiations on the sale began seven months ago, officials said.

Steve Starks — executive vice president for Larry H. Miller Management — has led the company’s expansion efforts the past four years and represented the Millers in this acquisition.

“Not only is this the largest dealership acquisition in our company’s history, we believe it is among the largest acquisitions in the industry over the past several years,” Starks said.

Existing employees at the seven newly acquired stores will be retained. This means the dealer group’s Arizona-based employee count will eclipse 1,000 people. Overall auto employees will now exceed 3,700.
 
“An important part of the purchase value of these dealerships is the employees,” said Fitzpatrick. “We are impressed with the corporate culture at these stores and the high-caliber, experienced people who work there. We feel that they will be a great fit for our organization.”
 
Grant added: “It is always a difficult decision to make when selling our dealerships to a new group.  It is important to both me and Doug that we select a company that values its customers and employees. Our decision was made easier knowing how Larry H. Miller Dealerships conducts business and the benefits they offer their workers.”

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