Along with a pair of other dealership transactions involving Kerrigan Advisors, one of the dealer groups honored during the Used Car Awards given during Used Car Week 2019 recently added to its portfolio of rooftops.

HGreg.com — the Tier 3 Dealer Group Award Winner in a program sponsored by TradeRev — recently completed its acquisition of one of the largest Nissan dealerships in the U.S. from AutoNation. Now known as HGreg Nissan Kendall, the dealership is located at 17305 S Dixie Hwy, in Palmetto Bay, Fla., southeast of Kendall.

With this important acquisition, HGreg.com expands its portfolio of Nissan dealerships to two in Florida and six nationwide.

According to HGreg.com, the value of the transaction is estimated at $75 million including property, upgrades and facility improvements as well as inventory.

“Since opening our first location in South Florida in 2010, we’ve been building something very special in the region,” HGreg.com president John Hairabedian said in a news release. “We’ve set out to redefine the industry through a new customer experience that is built around convenience and choice, and it’s resonating with consumers.”

The dealership features a 71,500 square-foot building and 14.25 acres of property. The dealership also enjoys a direct pipeline to the large selection of pre-owned vehicles available through the growing HGreg.com network in south and central Florida.

“We look forward to bringing to life our slogan of ‘Car buying, redefined’ to the Kendall area,” Hairabedian said. “We’ve built our business model to accommodate the customer journey, which also includes our website, 100,000 square-foot regional warehouse and concierge-like service for the millions of people who visit south Florida throughout the year.

“We invite anyone who doesn’t yet know us to pay us a visit to learn more. We’re open for business and ready to serve, from the trade-in phase to post-purchase servicing,” he went on to say.

HGreg Nissan Kendall currently employs close to 100 people. The company said it will be looking to recruit additional personnel over the next few months.

HGreg.com owns and operates a network of eight dealerships in the state that includes HGreg.com pre-owned dealerships in Doral, North Miami, Westpark (Broward), Orlando and West Palm Beach, a new car dealership, HGreg Nissan Delray, in Palm Beach County, and a boutique pre-owned luxury car dealership, HGreg Lux, located in Pompano.

In Canada, under the HGregoire.com banner, the company oversees a network of 11 pre-owned and 10 franchised dealerships.

2 transactions involving Kerrigan Advisors

In other dealership transactions, Kerrigan Advisors represented and advised on the sale of Los Angeles County-based El Monte Honda, owned by Steve Nelson and business partners, to Washington-based Car Pros Automotive Group. This is the first Honda dealership for Car Pros, a West coast-based automotive group with six dealerships located in Washington and southern California.

Kerrigan Advisors also represented and advised Bredemann Lexus, located in Glenview, Ill., in its sale. The buyer was Glencoe, Ill.-based Fields Automotive Group, ranked No. 27 in Automotive News’ Top 150 Dealership Group List.

Opened in 1990, Bredemann Lexus is one of the first Lexus franchises in the U.S. and an award-winning dealership, receiving the Elite of Lexus Award 23 consecutive years from 1992 to 2015.

With this acquisition, Car Pros will now have six dealerships, including California stores, Kia in Huntington Beach and Glendale and Volkswagen in San Bernardino as well as Hyundai and Kia in Renton, Wash., and Kia in Tacoma, Wash.

“Car Pros is excited to expand our brand portfolio in southern California with the Honda franchise,” said Matthew Phillips, chief executive officer and owner of Car Pros Automotive Group.

These transactions marked the 81st and 82nd dealership moves Kerrigan Advisors has represented since 2015. It’s also the 10th Honda dealership sold by Kerrigan Advisors since July 2015 and the third Lexus franchise sold this year, making the firm one of the most active sell-side advisers in the auto retail industry.

“El Monte Honda has been serving the southern California community for decades,” Nelson said in a news release. “When it was time to sell, we needed an adviser who could discreetly and accurately represent the opportunity. Kerrigan Advisors has such deep experience representing Honda franchises, and they were able to successfully represent our interests and maximize the value of our business.

“My partners and I have operated many dealerships over the last 30 years,” Nelson continued. “This has been among the smoothest transactions we have been party to, which would not have been possible without Kerrigan Advisors.”

Kerrigan Advisors managing director Ryan Kerrigan noted, “Advising Steve and his partners on the sale of El Monte Honda was a real privilege. The buyer demand that we saw in the marketplace for El Monte Honda reflects the strength of today’s buy/sell market for top franchises, such as Honda.

“El Monte Honda is known for its professional approach to automotive sales and service, so we were determined to represent the partnership the same way and bring a buyer who would offer a continuation of those values,” Ryan Kerrigan went on to say.

Kerrigan Advisors founder and managing director Erin Kerrigan also elaborated about the Honda store transaction.

“El Monte Honda offered a unique opportunity to represent a top import franchise in one of the largest car markets in the U.S.,” Erin Kerrigan said. “It was important that Kerrigan Advisors identify the best buyer for El Monte Honda, particularly one that met all of our client’s valuation expectations and transaction priorities.

“I am confident that Car Pros Automotive Group will continue to build El Monte Honda into one of the strongest Honda dealerships in the area,” she continued.

Brent Smith of Manning, Leaver, Bruder & Berberich served as legal counsel to El Monte Honda. Christian Scali, Bert Rasmussen and Rita Campanile of Scali Rasmussen served as legal counsel and Jason Meersman of Rekdal Hopkins Howard  served as an accounting adviser to Car Pros.

Meanwhile, the parties involved also recapped how the sale of Bredemann Lexus came to fruition.

“It’s never easy to decide to sell a dealership, especially one with such a long family history in the community,” said Joe Bredemann, dealer and co-owner of Bredemann Lexus and grandson of the Bredemann auto group founder, Joseph Bredemann II. “Joseph J. Bredemann II, a former blacksmith and wagon-maker, started working in the car business for the Busse Family in Park Ridge almost 100 years ago. Buick was established in 1912, and we added the Toyota franchise in 1976, and Ford in Glenview in 1990. That same year, we were proud to be awarded one of the first Lexus franchises in the U.S.

We will continue to provide the same high level of service to our valued clients at our three remaining dealerships, Bredemann Toyota in Park Ridge, Bredemann Chevrolet in Park Ridge, and Bredemann Ford in Glenview,” Joe Bredemann continued. “I’d like to thank Kerrigan Advisors for doing an exceptional job managing a competitive national sale process on our behalf, ultimately leading to our successful sale to Fields Automotive, another Chicago-based, family-owned group.

“We are confident the Fields management team, together with our former Lexus employees, will continue to provide the same level of unparalleled customer service that our Lexus clients have become accustomed to. We also could not be more impressed with the professionalism and diligence of Kerrigan Advisors,” he went on to say.

Through four generations, Bredemanns have served their community, with long-standing support to local charities and civic organizations, including Misericordia, the Park Ridge Rotary Club, The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The A.C. Nielsen Tennis Tournament benefitting the North Suburban Special Recreation Association, North Shore Community Services, Park Ridge Little League Baseball and the Park Ridge, Glenview and Niles Chambers of Commerce.

“The Bredemann family has been an important employer and contributor in Chicago and the northern suburbs for over 150 years. Their Lexus franchise has been award-winning since its start, so we were honored to represent the dealership in the sale,” Erin Kerrigan said.

“The Bredemann name, and their auto dealerships, symbolize integrity, fairness, philanthropy and first-class service. Finding a buyer with the same values who would carry on the Bredemann family legacy was an important goal of our sale process,” she continued.

Ryan Kerrigan added, “The Bredemann Family of Dealerships is one of Chicago’s most reputable. They have a policy of service excellence in all aspects of their operations, and a sincere commitment to their community. We’re honored to have represented Bredemann Lexus in this important transaction.”

William Kelly and Ira Levin of Burke, Warren, Mackay & Serritella, P.C. served as legal counsel to Bredemann Lexus. John J. Keating of Wipfli LLP served as accounting adviser to Bredemann Lexus. Stephen Dietrich and Sarah Seedig of Holland & Knight LLP served as legal counsel to Fields Automotive Group.