Asbury Climbs U.S. Auto-Dealer Ranks With $3.2 Billion Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Asbury Automotive Group Inc. agreed to acquire closely held peer Larry H. Miller Group for $3.2 billion, catapulting the publicly traded company higher in the ranks of the largest car-dealership chains.

The deal will add about $5.7 billion of annual revenue and expand Asbury’s presence in western U.S. states, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Analysts had been expecting about $9.6 billion of revenue for Asbury this year.

“This acquisition is a unique opportunity to rapidly expand Asbury’s presence into these desirable, high-growth Western markets with strong accretion from day-one,” Asbury Chief Executive Officer David Hult said in the statement. The Duluth, Georgia-based company is targeting $20 billion of annual revenue by 2025.

The purchase price for Larry H. Miller includes about $740 million of real estate. Asbury expects to close the deal in the fourth quarter.

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