Sale of Lafayette’s top volume luxury dealership marks Kerrigan Advisors’ 281st dealership sold since inception, and 68th luxury franchise sold since 2014; transaction illustrates continued buyer demand for high-quality, low-risk franchises

Lafayette, LA – December 4, 2024 – Kerrigan Advisors, the premier sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide, represented New Orleans-based Bohn Brothers Automotive Group in the sale of its Audi Lafayette dealership to Community Auto Group. Owned by Roger Elswick, Community Auto Group is a premier Honda, Kia, and Toyota dealer based in Houston, Texas. The completion of the Audi Lafayette transaction represents Kerrigan Advisors’ fourth Audi franchise sold in 2024 alone, and its 281st dealership transaction since 2014.

“We are delighted to have completed the sale of Bohn Brothers Automotive Group’s Audi Lafayette dealership and to work again with Donny and Scott Bohn and their exceptional team,” said Gabe Robleto, Senior Vice President, Sell-Side Advisory at Kerrigan Advisors. “Our ten-year history with the family gives us a unique understanding of their legacy of exceptional customer and community service and the importance of that continuing with a new owner. We are gratified to have identified Community Auto Group to carry the torch and continue Audi Lafayette’s superlative support of the Lafayette community.”

Bohn Brothers Automotive Group originated with the founding of the Bohn Motor Company by George W. Bohn in 1924 in New Orleans. Over the years, the group has expanded its footprint and today operates Audi New Orleans, Toyota of Slidell and Hyundai Genesis of Metairie. An award-winning dealership, Audi Lafayette is the #1 volume luxury dealership in Lafayette, outperforming Mercedes and BMW in new unit sales. The decorated dealership has earned six consecutive years of Magna Society Elite status and six Magna Society awards.

“I want to express my gratitude to Gabe and the entire team at Kerrigan Advisors for their outstanding work in finding the ideal buyer for our Audi Lafayette dealership and for shepherding this transaction to a very successful conclusion,” said Donny Bohn, Co-Owner of Bohn Brothers Automotive Group. “I also would like to give a special thank you to our employees and the Lafayette community for their loyalty and support. I am confident the community will continue to be well-served by Audi Lafayette under the leadership of Community Auto Group.”

With a population of over 414,000, Lafayette is the third largest, and fastest-growing, metro area in Louisiana, driven by its low cost of living and robust economy, and was named the “Happiest City in America in 2023” by The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch.

A growing brand in the US, Audi achieved the third highest sales growth among all luxury franchises in 2023 and reached an overall US market share of nearly 1.5% -- the highest level in the company’s history. In Lafayette, Audi captured an impressive 14.5% luxury market share, outperforming the US average of 8.1%.

“This transaction offers yet another example of how buyers continue to gravitate to lower-risk, higher-quality franchises located in growth regions of the US. Our firm has now sold 130 franchises in the South in less than 10 years and we expect we will continue to be very active in 2025, given buyers’ preferences for top franchises in business-friendly markets,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder & Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors  “It was such an honor to work with the Bohn family on this sale and we are confident that their Audi Lafayette dealership will continue to thrive with its new owners.”

Stephen Dietrich and Brooke Sizer of Holland & Knight served as legal counsel to Bohn Brothers Automotive Group. Crowe LLP was the seller’s accountant. Chris Goodrich and Gregory Goodrich of Crady Jewett McCulley & Houren LLP served as legal counsel to Community Auto Group.

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 280 dealerships representing over $9 billion in client proceeds, including the third largest transaction in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group. The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors does not take listings, rather they develop a customized sales approach for each client to achieve their personal and financial goals. In addition to the firm’s sell-side advisory services, Kerrigan Advisors also provides a suite of consulting and investor services including growth strategy, market valuation assessments, capital allocation, transactional due diligence, open point proposals, operational improvement and real estate due diligence.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples, and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index™, click here. To read the 2023 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2024 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:

Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 949-307-1723

Sale of Nick Alexander BMW to Car Pros Automotive Group includes MINI and Collision Center, and represents the 201st & 202nd dealership, 50th top luxury franchise sale led by Kerrigan Advisors since 2015

Los Angeles – August 28, 2023 – Kerrigan Advisors, the premier sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide, represented Los Angeles-based Nick Alexander Imports in the sale of Nick Alexander BMW and Nick Alexander MINI to Renton, Washington-based Car Pros Automotive Group, the US’ 45th largest dealership group and owner of 10 dealerships, including four in Southern California. The transaction marks the 201st and 202nd dealership and 50th top luxury franchise sale since 2015. 

“It's been a great pleasure to work with the Alexanders, whom we've known for years and who will be missed in the automotive retail industry,” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “We were aware that the decision to sell was understandably an emotional one for the Alexander family. With that in mind, our team worked hard to achieve a great financial outcome through a transaction that allowed the Alexanders to feel positive about the future of their business and their people. With the sale to Car Pros, the family was able to achieve that goal.”

The Alexander family has served the downtown Los Angeles market since 1978. Nick Alexander BMW is a multiple winner of BMW's "Center of Excellence" and "President's Cup” awards. Nick Alexander MINI ranks 3rd highest volume in the US by 2022 new MINI sales.

“We have owned this BMW franchise for 44 years, so the decision to sell was not an easy one. You only sell once, and we needed the best representation in the business to ensure a smooth transaction and to find a buyer who could represent the best interests of the franchise, employees and community” said Nick Alexander, Co-owner and Operator of Nick Alexander Imports. “We’ve known Ryan and Erin Kerrigan and Kerrigan Advisors for years, and we knew that when the decision to sell came, they were the only choice to represent our family. Their proven track record of successful sales continued with this transaction.”

Nick Alexander BMW, MINI and its collision center are housed in renovated, state-of-the-art facilities serving the rapidly growing downtown Los Angeles (LA) market, which is thriving under massive real estate development. Downtown LA has become a highly desirable place to live and is home to some of the US’ largest corporations. Los Angeles is the nation’s largest car market and its economy ranks as the 2nd and 18th largest economy in the US and world, respectively.

“We have benefited from Kerrigan Advisors’ guidance throughout the sale process, from start to finish. Our transaction was a unique one in multiple ways, including our location, large parcels of highly valuable real estate, and BMW operations intertwined with MINI to name a few,” said Elizabeth Alexander, Co-owner of Nick Alexander Imports. “The Kerrigan team was able to work through those complexities and ultimately identify a buyer who understood our operations, and valued our unique business and the opportunities it presented.” 

Los Angeles is the top luxury car market in the US and BMW is an industry leader among volume luxury brands: it has the second highest sales per franchise of all luxury brands and is one of the top luxury brands in Southern California. According to Kerrigan Advisors Q1 2023 Blue Sky Report®, the luxury import segment outperformed the domestic and non-luxury import segments by 85% and 202%, respectively, based on first quarter 2023 US light vehicle sales and appears to be somewhat insulated from rising interest rates, strengthening the segment’s valuations.

“We were honored to work with Nick, Elizabeth and their team in the sale of one of the automotive industry’s premier luxury brands in a top luxury market,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “The success of this transaction is more evidence that, with strong constantly high profitability and unit sales growth, luxury franchises continue to command elevated valuations, giving further ballast to the robust 2023 auto dealership buy/sell market.”

Kerrigan Advisors is the most active sell-side advisor on larger transactions in the auto retail industry. The firm attributes its success to its team’s laser focus on fulfilling each client’s personal and professional goals. In addition to its sell-side advisory work, the firm offers strategic consulting services to dealers and their families, including growth planning, capital raising, and acquisition valuation analysis, creating value for their clients at every stage of the auto retail lifecycle.

David Meyer, Hen Amir and Gus Paras of ArentFox Schiff served as legal counsel to the seller. Halbert Rasmussen and One Choi served as legal counsel to the buyer.

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is the premier sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Kerrigan Advisors has represented some of auto retail’s largest transactions and advised more of the largest dealership groups in the US than any other buy/sell firm in the industry. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, the firm does not take listings, rather they develop a customized approach for each client to achieve their personal and financial goals. In addition to Kerrigan Advisors’ sell-side advisory and capital raising services, the firm also provides a suite of consulting services including growth strategy, market valuation assessments, capital allocation, transactional due diligence, open point proposals, operational improvement and real estate due diligence.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples, and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To access The Kerrigan Index™, click here. To read the 2022 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.

Kerrigan Advisors Media Contact:

Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 949-307-1723