Morrie’s Auto Group has purchased fellow Minneapolis area-based Forest Lake Auto Group, according to a news release Monday from Haig Partners, who was the sell-side advisor to Forest Lake in the deal.

“It’s been my pleasure to work with a great staff at these two stores to serve many thousands of customers in the greater Minneapolis area,” said Randy Wilcox, Forest Lake Auto Group owner said in a news release.

“We built a terrific business and I expect Morrie’s will provide even more opportunities for our people and our customers. I wish them all much success for the future,” Wilcox said. “I’d like to thank Alan Haig and Nate Klebacha from Haig Partners for running a confidential sale process that brought me the outcome that I wanted.

“Also, I’d like to thank Chris Penwell and Scott Weaver at Siegel Brill for their astute legal advice to help get this transaction closed,” he said.

Forest Lake Auto Group includes two stores located outside of Minneapolis. Those include Forest Lake Chevrolet and Forest Lake Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-RAM.

With this acquisition, Morrie’s has now purchased 14 stores in seven transactions since 2016.

“We are excited to add these dealerships to the Morrie's platform and expand our presence in Minnesota,” Morrie’s chief executive officer Lance Iserman said in a news release. “This acquisition will strengthen our offering across the Midwest as we continue to grow and acquire additional stores.

“The Forest Lake dealerships share a similar strategy and community approach to that of Morrie’s, with a customer friendly, best-price sales process and a focus on customer experience,” Iserman said. “We look forward to working with the existing team to drive benefits for our collective customers, employees and brand partners.”

Haig Partners president Alan Haig added: “We congratulate Randy Wilcox on the sale of his dealerships to Morrie’s. He grew his stores into two of the highest-performing domestic dealerships in the upper Midwest. Also, we applaud the Morrie’s team with this acquisition that adds further strength to their position in Minneapolis. This transaction demonstrates that buyers remain confident about the future of auto retail and want to continue to grow.”