One of Canada’s largest dealership groups keeps on growing.

AutoCanada’s latest acquisition is Nurse Chevrolet Cadillac, a dealership and collision center in Whitby, Ontario, purchased from Mary Nurse.

The deal gives AutoCanada 23 dealership locations and 10 collision centers in Ontario, and its first presence in Whitby.

In all, the company operates 85 franchised dealerships in eight Canadian provinces and the U.S. state of Illinois, as well as three used-vehicle dealerships, a used-vehicle auction business, 13 RightRide division locations and 28 collision centers. AutoCanada retailed some 100,000 vehicles and generated more than $6 billion in revenue in 2023.

Executive chairman Paul Antony said Nurse Chevrolet Cadillac gives his company “a strong dealership with significant growth potential” and expands its relationship with General Motors Canada.

“We are grateful that Mary Nurse chose AutoCanada to be the steward of this business,” Antony said in a news release. “The Nurse family served the community for the last 50-plus years and we look forward to proudly carrying their legacy into the future.

“Further, Mary’s fair and authentic leadership style enabled her to pioneer the way for women in automotive in Canada. She has attracted and built a high-quality team capable of taking on the next leg of the journey. We are excited to be working with the team at Nurse to further grow the business and serve customers throughout the Whitby market.”

Nurse Chevrolet Cadillac has served the Whitby community for 58 years. AutoCanada said the current management team will continue to operate the business.

The dealership and collision center currently generate annual revenues in excess of $80 million, AutoCanada said. The transaction will be funded using the company’s credit facility and is expected to be accretive to 2024 earnings.

AutoCanada announces credit facility amendment

AutoCanada also announced its lenders under the company’s syndicated credit facility have agreed to increase its maximum permitted total net funded debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 4-to-1 to 4.5-to-1 for the period from June 28 to Sept. 29, 2024.

After Sept. 29, the maximum ratio will revert to the previous 4-to-1 level.

AutoCanada called the increase “a precautionary measure” taken by the company and its lenders as a result of the ongoing CDK outage and the unknown impact it might have on AutoCanada’s financial results.

Palladino acquires Canada’s oldest dealership

Palladino Auto Group has made a historic acquisition.

The Ontario-based dealership group purchased Doyle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Sudbury, Ontario, from Brian Doyle and Blake Didone, according to Performance Brokerage Services, which advised on the transaction.

Doyle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is Canada’s oldest Chrysler dealership, founded in 1921 by Percy Gardner, who arrived from England in 1907 and was hired by Sudbury lumber baron William Bell to tend to his horses.

Bell needed a private chauffeur, so he sent Gardner on an eight-week course to learn about cars. After studying motor vehicles and driving the first four-cylinder car model brought to the area, Gardner fell in love with cars and opened a dealership, Gardner’s Garage, which later became Doyle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.

Palladino Auto Group was founded more than 50 years ago by Vip Palladino and is now operated by his son, Vince. Palladino now owns and operates seven dealerships in Sudbury, North York and North Bay, Ontario.