Transaction Activity Still High

This year has seen continued, brisk activity in the buy-sell market. Large and small automotive groups alike seem to be taking part in the flurry of transactions. This increased activity has led to longer turnaround times with almost all manufacturers, even on simple internal changes (e.g., partner buyouts and internal reorganizations). The long-established, domestic brands have been particularly slow, even more than usual. Those same brands have also rejected more applicants than they have in the recent past.

In 2019, the Bass Sox Mercer Transaction Group was involved in nearly 100 transactions, 40 of which closed by year-end. These closings took place in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. The closings involved the following brands: Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, Infiniti, Mazda, Subaru, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Hyundai, Genesis, Ford, Honda, Kia, Nissan, McLaren, Audi, Porsche, and Harley-Davidson.

As with the past several years, we expect high levels of buy-sell activity in 2020.