Kerrigan Advisors represents MCE Automotive Group in sale of seven South Carolina dealerships to Anderson Automotive Group
August 25, 2023
GREENEVILLE, SC – Kerrigan Advisors, the premier sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide, represented Greenville, South Carolina-based MCE Automotive Group, owned and operated by the Escude family, in the sale of their seven dealerships to North Carolina-based Anderson Automotive Group, ranked 71st largest US dealership group in the US by 2022 new unit sales. The transaction includes Toyota of Greer, Kia of Greenville, Kia of Greer, Hyundai of Greer, Genesis of Greer, Nissan of Greer and Mike Hovart Chevrolet and represents nearly $500 million in revenue. This marks the 200th dealership sale led by Kerrigan Advisors since 2015 and the 22nd Toyota dealership sold, making Kerrigan Advisors the most active sell-side advisor to Toyota dealers in the US. With the sale of MCE Automotive Group, Kerrigan Advisors has completed transactions representing over $4 billion in client proceeds since 2020.
Greenville serves as the economic anchor of Upstate South Carolina, with over 60% of the Upstate population residing in an area that touts a low cost of living and a high quality of life (#2 Best Place to Live in the state and #15 Lowest Cost Place to Live in the US). MCE Automotive Group captures 14% market share of Greenville’s new units sold, with a 45% share in Greer, a thriving Greenville suburb. The sale includes seven recently built or renovated dealerships, and over 39 acres of property. The dealerships operate in three Greenville markets: Greer (Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Genesis), Greenville (Kia), and Easley (Chevrolet). MCE Automotive is also the exclusive Kia dealer for the Greenville MSA.
Kerrigan Advisors has facilitated 28 multi-dealership transactions since 2020, making the firm the most active sell-side advisor on larger, more complex transactions in the auto retail industry. The firm attributes its success to the team’s laser focus on fulfilling each client’s personal and professional goals, as well as their commitment to managing every step of the transaction through closing. 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 clients at every stage of the auto retail lifecycle.
For MCE Automotive Group, Sai Ireland and Barry Cannada of Butler Snow LLP served as legal counsel and John Bishop Jr. of Bishop and Draper, CPAs was MCE’s accountant. For the buyer, Jeff Roberts of Underwood & Roberts, PLLC served as legal counsel and Travis Horton of Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC was Anderson’s accountant.
– BUSINESS WIRE
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 2023 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors also is the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership.
