The Presidio Group Exclusively Facilitates the Sale of Two Mercedes-Benz Dealerships in Mississippi and Tennessee to Lithia Motors
The Presidio Group LLC ("Presidio"), an independent merchant banking firm focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and investments in the automotive retail and consumer mobility sectors, exclusively advised Trudy Higginbotham Moody, Wallis Higginbotham and family on the sale of two Mercedes-Benz dealerships to Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD).
The transaction, which was finalized June 2, involved Mercedes-Benz of Jackson in Mississippi and Mercedes-Benz of Collierville in suburban Memphis, Tenn., and included their associated real estate.
The Mercedes stores had been part of a family business led by longtime dealer Dennis Higginbotham, who founded his first dealership in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., in 1976. He sold the dealership group he built to Sonic Automotive, Inc. in 1998.
In 2001, he and his family became dealership owners again when they purchased Mercedes-Benz of Jackson. They later acquired the Tennessee Mercedes-Benz store as an open point. Moody, Dennis Higginbotham's daughter and the state of Mississippi's most recent TIME Dealer of the Year nominee, operated the Jackson location as dealer principal.
"After careful consideration, our family made the difficult decision to sell these stores," said Moody, who also has served as chair of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association. "We turned to our trusted friends at Presidio to help us achieve our goals and ensure a seamless transaction that honors our family's automotive heritage and our father's legacy. I am deeply grateful to our dedicated team members and loyal customers for their longtime support that made our business so successful."
For Lithia, the transaction strengthens the company's growing footprint in the Southeast and further boosts its presence in the luxury market.
"This purchase allows us to expand our presence in Mississippi and Tennessee, two strategic markets for our company," said Bryan DeBoer, president and CEO of Lithia Motors. "We are always excited to see acquisition opportunities from Presidio given its professionalism and top-notch processes. This marks our fifth transaction facilitated by the firm with the amount of revenue acquired through those deals topping $4 billion, and it upheld the smooth, high-quality approach we've come to associate with Presidio."
In Mississippi, Lithia already operates Toyota of Jackson. In Tennessee, it operates Sunrise Buick-GMC at Wolfchase and Sunrise Chevrolet-Buick-GMC at Collierville, both in suburban Memphis, and West Knoxville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Knoxville.
"Working with the Higginbotham family was a privilege," said Alex Watterson, managing director of The Presidio Group. "Their commitment to excellence, deep automotive roots and desirable brands and locations made this a meaningful transaction for both them and Lithia."
"Despite the daily tariff headlines, well-capitalized dealers continue to seek strategic acquisitions to strengthen their market presence and expand their dealership networks," said George Karolis, president of The Presidio Group. "We were well suited to represent these dealerships to the market as our team has first-rate expertise in luxury automotive transactions, especially with Mercedes-Benz stores. We were honored to guide this process and provide a successful outcome for Trudy and the Higginbotham family, and we thank them for the trust they placed in us."
The Higginbotham family was represented by Eric Gregory of Gregory Law, LLC. Lithia Motors was represented by Edward Impert, the company's general counsel, and Aaron Weisman, the company's legal director of M&A and real estate.
The Presidio Group provided exclusive M&A advisory services to the Higginbotham family through its wholly owned investment bank, Presidio Merchant Partners LLC.
About Higginbotham Automobiles
Higginbotham Automobiles is a family-owned business operating in the Southeast and founded by Dennis Higginbotham, who first became a dealer in 1976. After selling stores to Sonic in 1998, the Higginbotham family became dealership owners once again in 2001. The family has been recognized for its emphasis on creating an excellent work environment and for staff longevity at its stores.
About Lithia & Driveway
Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD) is the largest global automotive retailer providing a wide array of products and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Simple, convenient and transparent experiences are offered through Lithia's comprehensive network of physical locations, e-commerce platforms, captive finance solutions, fleet management offerings and other synergistic adjacencies. The company delivers consistent, profitable growth in a massive and unconsolidated industry. Its highly diversified and competitively differentiated design provides it the flexibility and scale to pursue its vision to modernize personal transportation solutions wherever, whenever and however consumers desire.
About The Presidio Group LLC
The Presidio Group was founded in 1998 with the simple mission to relentlessly put the interests of our clients first. By steadfastly adhering to this philosophy, the firm has earned the trust of clients throughout the United States. During their careers, the professionals at Presidio have collectively closed nearly 290 transactions for about $19 billion. The Presidio Group, based in Denver and Atlanta, publishes Presidio Perspectives: A Quarterly Outlook on Auto Retail and M&A Trends, a leading source of information about the automotive retail landscape. Presidio Merchant Partners LLC is a subsidiary of The Presidio Group LLC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information on Presidio, visit www.thepresidiogroup.com.
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Brodie Cobb
(720) 844-3151
[email protected]
George Karolis
(678) 831-5520
[email protected]