DULUTH, Ga. -
Asbury Automotive Group announced Thursday that it has officially closed its Greenville Automotive Group purchase. Moreover, in addition to completing a stock repurchase, the automotive group revealed it is planning to sell its heavy-truck business.
Thanks to the the acquisition of auto group, Asbury is picking up five franchises. Greenville Automotive operates Lexus, Toyota, Jaguar, Porsche and Volvo brands in South Carolina. Asbury expects revenues as a part of this transaction will total about $125 million.
“We are extremely pleased to expand our presence in Greenville, a strong market within our existing geographic footprint,” explained Charles Oglesby, president and chief executive officer at Asbury.
“The group fits within our strict acquisition criteria with respect to attractive brands, geographic location and valuation,” he added.
In other big company news, Asbury agreed to sell Nalley Motor Trucks to Rush Enterprises, with the expected closing date to occur in the first quarter.
Asbury believes the acquisition and divesture will lead to a $2 million boost in annualized pre-tax income from continuing operations.
“The sale of our heavy truck business represents a strategic decision to exit a non-core business while redeploying capital into our core automotive retailing business with greater returns,” noted Craig Monaghan, the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Continuing on, the auto group’s management team has gained approval its board of directors to repurchase up to $25 million of the company’s common stock.
According to management, Asbury has been able to resume returning capital to shareholders thanks to its recent refinancing measures.
The company went on ton note that its cash and cash available under floor plan offset accounts were at $79 million at the end of the third quarter.
“We continue to seek a balanced approach toward investing the company’s capital. The announcements we have made today reinforce our goal of optimizing our operating portfolio in addition to returning capital to our shareholders,” Oglesby shared.
“Going forward, we will also look for opportunities to reduce our leverage and operating leases,” he stated.