O’Brien Auto Park, which is made up of Subaru, Hyundai and Mazda dealerships at 2850 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, marketed its actual estate for $26 million, in addition an undisclosed quantity for the company and about 1,000 autos on web site.
All 130 personnel will be retained, such as basic manager Brian Burton, a lengthy-time O’Brien employee.
The Tampa-based mostly Morgan Automotive Group, which made its initially foray into the Lee County market on getting Honda of Fort Myers in April 2018, closed on the transaction on Dec. 15.
“We plan to preserve each one staff who was performing there the working day it closed,” explained Larry Morgan, proprietor of Morgan Automotive Group, which owns 45 dealerships with 27 brands throughout Florida. “The shopper interactions will keep the very same. No just one will know the distinction. The transition has been definitely sleek.”
The O’Brien intricate is about 50 % a mile west of Honda of Fort Myers, which Morgan constructed from scratch, relocating the dealership from its place along U.S. 41 to 3550 Colonial Blvd. in November 2019.
“Perfectly,” Morgan reported of owning four branded places in that corridor. “That’s why we bought it. We like Fort Myers. We assume it’s a excellent current market. We do really properly in our Honda retail outlet.”
The obtain bucked Morgan’s development of obtaining rundown dealerships and rehabilitating them.
“The O’Brien outlets are pretty properly-run outlets,” Morgan claimed. “Typically, we obtain retailers that are not executing perfectly. We just take them and turn them around and make price. As time goes on, we hope to be in a position to discover some matters that can be improved on. We like the makes. We had two of the makes currently. We did not have a Subaru, which we’re actually thrilled about. We imagine Subaru is a terrific model. It has a loyal purchaser base. So we’re psyched about that. We have some synergies. We have some management already there in the market place.”
Morgan reported the O’Brien crest and insignia at some point will be dropped. The dealerships will be referred to as Subaru of Fort Myers, Hyundai of Fort Myers and Mazda of Fort Myers. Morgan also may build a fourth building to accommodate Genesis of Fort Myers, a luxurious model that competes with Mercedes and BMW and is manufactured by Hyundai.
“That brand name desires to have its have identification and possess constructing and make it a lot more of an upscale expertise for customers on a standalone basis,” Morgan said.
The Hyundai store also could be reworked.
In the Know: Exceptional to start with glimpse at new Honda of Fort Myers off Colonial Boulevard
For Joe O’Brien, who bought the dealerships in 1998, and Gary Matern, who grew to become a 50% companion and general supervisor in 2007, the time appeared proper to offer to Morgan, who approached them previously this year.
“It was a extremely, incredibly challenging selection,” Matern explained of providing. “I’d say it’s bittersweet. But it was time.”
O’Brien and Matern will proceed owning and functioning a Lexus and Toyota dealership in Peoria, Illinois. O’Brien also partners in a handful of other out-of-area dealerships. But the overtures from Morgan to promote in Fort Myers have been far too enticing to dismiss.
“Coming into 2020 … we weren’t seeking for an exit strategy at the time,” Matern claimed. “Mr. Morgan approached us. We entered into negotiations. The pricing was appropriate. We determined to turn it over to him.
Impartial men like ourselves are acquiring a tougher time to compete with the economies of scale of these larger sized functions.”
Morgan has some 4,500 personnel across the state in comparison to O’Brien’s 130.
“Their skill to invest in coverage, negotiate with financial institutions and negotiate with other enterprise phrases … it tends to make it a good deal harder to compete,” Matern claimed.
Matern, 62, plans to thrive in an space in which Morgan, 77, has not: retirement.
Morgan, a former operator of 630 Tires In addition shops until finally advertising them to Bridgestone, un-retired and created his vehicle empire.
Matern has marketed his stake in the Fort Myers dealership but not his really like for the space.
“We like it here,” Matern explained. “Love the weather. This will be our residence foundation for sure.”
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