Last month, Lithia Motors announced it had purchased four John Eagle dealerships including John Eagle Honda of Dallas, Honda Cars of Rockwall, Howdy Honda of Austin, and John Eagle Sports City Toyota. That purchase was reportedly projected to “add $500 million in annualized revenues and bring Lithia’s network expansion to over $1 billion in revenue thus far in 2020.” Now, Lithia has announced that it has continued its expansion with the purchase of the remaining six John Eagle Dealerships throughout the state of Texas.
The newly purchased dealerships include Honda Cars of Katy, Honda of Clear Lake, John Eagle Acura, John Eagle Honda Houston, Clearlake Infiniti and Southwest Infiniti. These purchases make a total of 10, which are scattered throughout the Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Houston areas. Lithia, which is one of the largest coast-to-coast auto retail groups, now boasts over 200 locations and 55,000 cars for consumers to shop from.
The Presidio Group, which has been very critical to many various M&A transactions in the auto industry since 1997, advised Lithia throughout the transaction. John Eagle, the CEO of John Eagle Dealerships, announced that “the Presidio Group’s professionalism and confidentiality allowed this complex transaction to be completed smoothly.” All parties involved have mentioned that the transaction was smooth and will benefit all of them.
John Eagle Dealership’s president, Rene Isip, stated that it was an “honor” to work with Lithia on the transaction and added that “the Houston market will be an excellent addition to its growing Texas footprint.” The current move will expand Lithia’s presence in some of the biggest metropolitan regions in the country. Its presence in the South-Central region is already one of the most prominent, and seeing as Lithia has been busy with acquisitions throughout the year, it will likely just continue to grow. 
Lithia’s CEO, Bryan DeBoer, stated that the company is “excited to welcome these high-performing teams to the Lithia family. Their reputation in their communities and extraordinary volume reflect a commitment to an exceptional customer experience.” John Eagle Dealerships are very well known for their strong sales performances as well as their excellent customer care and strong dedication to the communities they serve.
DeBoer added that “the growth of our physical network expands our ability to provide consumers convenient and affordable new vehicles, used vehicles, service and parts solutions and brand impressions.” The Texas market is currently booming more than other areas, so Lithia has moved in to take advantage of it. In addition to the first four John Eagle dealerships last month, Lithia has also recently made purchases in the states of California and Oregon.
As part of the sale, it was agreed upon that the dealerships will keep the John Eagle name and hopefully their solid reputations. Eagle and Isip had decided the sale would be a good move for their personal lives, with both wanting to spend more time with their families after working for many rewarding years in the auto industry.
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