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One of the largest car dealership chains in the country, and the largest in New England, is set to trade hands for a huge sticker price.
Herb Chambers Cos. reached a deal to sell its dealership businesses and real estate to Georgia-based Asbury Automotive Group for $1.3B, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
The price includes $750M for the brand itself and $590M for its real estate assets, The Boston Globe first reported. Asbury also agreed to pay an additional amount that has yet to be specified for assets including the vehicle fleet and auto parts.
The deal includes 52 franchises, 33 dealerships and three collision centers across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Herb Chambers, the owner of the company bearing his name, will hold onto his Mercedes-Benz dealership in Somerville, and he will serve as an advisor to Asbury.
“As I look back on the last 40 years in business, I do so with immense pride, and as I look forward, I will do so with great satisfaction knowing what we built together will be in trusted hands,” Chambers said in a statement. “David Hult and the Asbury Automotive Group share our customer-focused philosophy which will remain as the foundation from which they move our great company into the future.”
Chambers bought his first auto dealership in 1985 after selling a copier sales business he owned in his twenties for $80M, the Globe reported.
The company now employs more than 2,200 people, and it made roughly $2.9B in revenue last year. Its SEC filing said it is the 14th-largest private dealership group in the U.S.
Asbury is a Fortune 500 company that is one of the largest automotive retailers in the country. The company operated 152 dealerships consisting of 198 franchises representing 31 vehicle brands as of last year.
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