CARY, N.C. -

The wave of M&A activity has been one of the biggest storylines in the auto industry this year, particularly among dealers and dealer groups, and that continues as October gets underway.

Starting with some news involving CarMax, the retailer has finished divesting its new-car dealership franchises with the sale of CarMax Kenosha Toyota to the Rydell Company, according to Haig Partners, which was the sell-side advisor for CarMax in this transaction.

“We made the decision to sell our Kenosha Toyota new-car store to allow us to continue to focus on our core business of delivering an exceptional used-car buying and selling experience,” CarMax chief financial officer Enrique Mayor-Mora said in Monday’s news release from Haig Partners. 

“We appreciate the strong relationship we have with Haig Partners and have worked with Kevin Nill for more than 20 years,” Mayor-Mora said. “Our experience with the company enhanced our trust and confidence that we would be represented with integrity and ensure this transaction would be completed successfully.”

Nill, who is a partner at Haig, said: “The team at Haig Partners appreciates the continued trust CarMax has in our firm to support their strategic focus on their used-car operations.

“We are honored to have been the exclusive sell-side advisor on the sale of the CarMax Kenosha Toyota store as well as the previous sale of CarMax Laurel Toyota,” Nill said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to bring our depth of relationships and industry expertise to CarMax, enabling us to navigate all aspects of this sale and match CarMax with a great organization.”

Elsewhere on Monday, it was announced DCD Automotive Holdings acquired Tarbox Toyota Hyundai in Rhode Island, which has been renamed Nucar Tarbox Toyota and Nucar Tarbox Hyundai.

That deal was announced in a news release from DCG Acquistions, a Dave Cantin Group company, which facilitated the transaction.

“We are pleased to have closed on this critical acquisition and to continue setting the standard in securing legacies,” DCG founder and chief executive officer Dave Cantin said in a news release. “Our unmatched success is made possible by our team's unparalleled knowledge base and professionalism, relentless hard work, and unyielding commitment to our clients.

“Through creative thinking and problem-solving, DCG ensures a beneficial and painless process for all parties involved in an acquisition,” Cantin said. “It is because of all of these attributes that we have achieved the most successful year in company history.”

And over the weekend, buy-sell advisor Performance Brokerage Services announced that Westfall-O’Dell — which is a collection of six commercial truck dealerships and a parts distribution center located throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Missouri — has been sold to Nextran Truck Centers.

The deal bumps Nextran’s footprint up to 25 locations.

Dan Argiro, who is the commercial truck partner at Performance Brokerage Services, facilitated the transaction.