Mercedes-Benz of Richmond was one of McGeorge’s two Mercedes stores sold in the deal. (BizSense file photo)
The McGeorge family’s auto dealership sell-off continues.
The longtime local car sellers on Tuesday finalized the sale of Mercedes-Benz of Richmond and Mercedes-Benz of Midlothian to Miami-based Murgado Automotive Group.
Those are the last two of the family’s local dealerships, following the sale last week of its two McGeorge Toyota locations in Henrico to Northern Virginia-based Graham Ourisman Automotive.
As was the case with the Toyota deals, financial terms of the Mercedes sales were not disclosed.
The transaction includes both the business assets and the dealership real estate at 8225 W. Broad St. and 12200 Midlothian Turnpike. Murgado said no staffing changes have been announced as a result of the ownership change.
Representatives of McGeorge and Murgado could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The deal marks Murgado’s entrance into the Richmond market. The two Mercedes stores mark its 25th and 26th dealerships, according to a press release.
Its other locations are franchises in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey, with brands including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Ferrari, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Maserati, Mazda, Porsche and Volkswagen.
The McGeorge family’s original Mercedes dealership from the 1960s. (Courtesy McGeorge Family of Dealerships)
The McGeorge family’s dealership business started in 1955 when David R. McGeorge purchased a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Richmond. The company has most recently been run by his grandson, Rod McGeorge, who is the seller in these recent deals.
Murgado, in its press release, acknowledged that heritage.
“It’s humbling to succeed a dealership group that has been built from the ground up and is now run by a third-generation leader,” CEO Mario Murgado said. “We, too, are passionate about our family-owned operations and are eager to introduce our unique brand of automotive retailing to Central Virginia, all while honoring our predecessors and Mercedes-Benz.”
Murgado said the McGeorge deal is part of an ongoing, multi-market expansion process.
“This acquisition aligns with Murgado Automotive Group’s long-term strategic plans for expansion into burgeoning markets across the eastern and midwestern regions of the United States,” the company said.
McGeorge was represented in the deal by Haig Partners, a Florida-based advisory firm that specializes in transactions for auto dealerships.
Murgado and Graham Ourisman aren’t the only out-of-town dealers expanding into Richmond.
Ohio-based Great Lakes Auto Group is planning a $30M from-scratch Honda dealership in Goochland County, just west of Short Pump. Over in Hanover, Atlanta-based EH Automotive Group is looking to build a new Kia dealership on Mechanicsville Turnpike.
Mercedes-Benz of Richmond was one of McGeorge’s two Mercedes stores sold in the deal. (BizSense file photo)
The McGeorge family’s auto dealership sell-off continues.
The longtime local car sellers on Tuesday finalized the sale of Mercedes-Benz of Richmond and Mercedes-Benz of Midlothian to Miami-based Murgado Automotive Group.
Those are the last two of the family’s local dealerships, following the sale last week of its two McGeorge Toyota locations in Henrico to Northern Virginia-based Graham Ourisman Automotive.
As was the case with the Toyota deals, financial terms of the Mercedes sales were not disclosed.
The transaction includes both the business assets and the dealership real estate at 8225 W. Broad St. and 12200 Midlothian Turnpike. Murgado said no staffing changes have been announced as a result of the ownership change.
Representatives of McGeorge and Murgado could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The deal marks Murgado’s entrance into the Richmond market. The two Mercedes stores mark its 25th and 26th dealerships, according to a press release.
Its other locations are franchises in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey, with brands including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Ferrari, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Maserati, Mazda, Porsche and Volkswagen.
The McGeorge family’s original Mercedes dealership from the 1960s. (Courtesy McGeorge Family of Dealerships)
The McGeorge family’s dealership business started in 1955 when David R. McGeorge purchased a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Richmond. The company has most recently been run by his grandson, Rod McGeorge, who is the seller in these recent deals.
Murgado, in its press release, acknowledged that heritage.
“It’s humbling to succeed a dealership group that has been built from the ground up and is now run by a third-generation leader,” CEO Mario Murgado said. “We, too, are passionate about our family-owned operations and are eager to introduce our unique brand of automotive retailing to Central Virginia, all while honoring our predecessors and Mercedes-Benz.”
Murgado said the McGeorge deal is part of an ongoing, multi-market expansion process.
“This acquisition aligns with Murgado Automotive Group’s long-term strategic plans for expansion into burgeoning markets across the eastern and midwestern regions of the United States,” the company said.
McGeorge was represented in the deal by Haig Partners, a Florida-based advisory firm that specializes in transactions for auto dealerships.
Murgado and Graham Ourisman aren’t the only out-of-town dealers expanding into Richmond.
Ohio-based Great Lakes Auto Group is planning a $30M from-scratch Honda dealership in Goochland County, just west of Short Pump. Over in Hanover, Atlanta-based EH Automotive Group is looking to build a new Kia dealership on Mechanicsville Turnpike.
“Unloaded” Do you feel that was the best headline for a very large sale of a valuable automotive franchise? Checking the Thesaurus, the synonyms for “unloaded” are uncrated, unpacked, unwrapped, taken out…? Wouldn’t the word “Sells” been fine? Asking for a friend….
Everybody is a critic.
Please David, Don’t Unload on me….
Or “Unloaded” as in a pun in what you do when taking vehicles of the car carrier transport truck. That is what I thought they were going for with the reference.
A family run set of multi-brand dealerships in Richmond for over 60 years sells off both the Toyota set and the Mercedes set, all assets, including the real estate. Both within a week of each other to out-of-state multi-dealers, sounds like an unloading. Notice we don’t see that headline when family run company sells the business to one of their long-time employees.
Dictionary of Business Terms: unloading. unloading. Finance: selling off large quantities of merchandise inventory at below-market prices, either to raise cash quickly or to depress the market in a particular product. Investment: selling securities or commodities when prices are declining to preclude further loss.
Who a business owner chooses to sell their privately owned business to is no one else’s business. Come on folks put the headlines aside and give it a rest!
Having known Rod and the many of his key management team for over a decade, I am confident he carefully chose successor companies that would honor the values his family built for over 60 years in RVA.