- 54 Dealership Locations in the United Kingdom
HOUSTON, April 15,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
(NYSE: GPI) ("Group 1" or the "Company"), a Fortune
300 automotive retailer with 202 dealerships located in the U.S.
and U.K., today announced it has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire the U.K. automotive retailing business and
related owned real estate from a subsidiary of Inchcape plc for
approximately $439 million (£346
million) in an all-cash transaction, inclusive of $279 million (£220 million) of appraised real
estate value. In 2023, the Inchcape U.K. dealerships
generated approximately $2.7 billion
USD (£2.1 billion) in annual revenues. The transaction
is subject to the receipt of approval from the Financial Conduct
Authority and is expected to close in the third quarter of
2024.
Group 1's President and Chief Executive Officer Daryl Kenningham stated, "Group 1 has
successfully operated in the U.K. since 2007 and we are extremely
pleased to have this opportunity to grow in this important
market. Inchcape's brand mix is outstanding. These new stores
complement our geographic footprint in the East and South East of
England and enable us to expand
into new markets in the Central and North West regions of
England and Wales. Inchcape's exceptional reputation has
been built over 50 years in the retail business. We look
forward to welcoming our new teammates to the Group 1 family."
With 54 dealership locations across major hubs in England and Wales, Inchcape's U.K. dealership portfolio
includes Audi, BMW/MINI, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus,
Mercedes-Benz/smart, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volkswagen
Commercial Vehicles. On an aggregate basis, these dealerships
sell over 63,500 new and used vehicles, and 24,000 corporate units,
annually.
Group 1's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Daniel McHenry added, "While this
transaction provides a transformation in scale for our company in
the U.K., our U.S. credit facility pro-forma leverage ratio will be
approximately 2.2x after taking into account the financing of this
transaction with debt and cash on hand, and liquidity remains
comfortably within our targets. This gives us the flexibility
to continue shareholder-focused capital allocation, which includes
accretive acquisitions, share repurchases, dividends, and
return-driven capital expenditures."
Year to date 2024, Group 1 has completed $1.0 billion of acquired revenues, and with this
proposed acquisition, total acquired revenues are expected to be
approximately $3.7 billion at the
anticipated closing date in the third quarter of 2024. With
the addition of the Inchcape dealerships, Group 1's total U.K.
dealership count would increase to 109, and 256 locations in the
U.S. and U.K.
The Company will provide additional details about the Inchcape
acquisition on its upcoming earnings call on April 24, 2024 at 9:00
a.m. ET.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as exclusive financial adviser
to Group 1 on the transaction. Dentons UK and Middle East LLP acted
as legal adviser to Group 1.
ABOUT GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
Group 1 owns and operates 202 automotive dealerships,
265 franchises, and 43 collision centers in
the United States and the
United Kingdom that offer
35 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships and
omni-channel platform, the Company sells new and used cars and
light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service and
insurance contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair
services; and sells vehicle parts.
Group 1 discloses additional information about the Company,
its business, and its results of operations at
www.group1corp.com, www.group1auto.com,
www.group1collision.com,
www.acceleride.com,
www.facebook.com/group1auto, and
www.twitter.com/group1auto.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, which are statements related to future, not past, events
and are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding
our business, the economy and other future conditions. In this
context, the forward-looking statements often include statements
regarding our ability to complete the acquisition of the
Inchcape dealerships at any time or at all, our ability to
realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition and our
future financial position following such acquisition, as
well as our strategic investments, goals, plans, projections and
guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations
and business strategy, including the annualized revenues of
recently completed acquisitions or dispositions and other benefits
of such currently anticipated or recently completed acquisitions or
dispositions. These forward-looking statements often contain words
such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"seeks," "should," "foresee," "may" or "will" and similar
expressions. While management believes that these forward-looking
statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no
assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that
we anticipate. Any such forward-looking statements are not
assurances of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from those set forth in the statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, among other things, (a) the occurrence of
any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to
the termination of the definitive agreement; (b) the risk that the
necessary manufacturer approvals may not be obtained; (c) the risk
that the necessary regulatory approvals may not be obtained or may
be obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; (d) the
risk that the proposed acquisition will not be consummated in a
timely manner; (e) risks that any of the closing conditions to the
proposed acquisition may not be satisfied or may not be satisfied
in a timely manner; (f) risks related to disruption of management
time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed
acquisition; (g) failure to realize the benefits expected from the
proposed acquisition; (h) failure to promptly and effectively
integrate the acquisition; (i) the effect of the announcement of
the proposed acquisition on the operating results and business of
Group 1 and on its ability to retain and hire key personnel,
maintain relationships with suppliers; (j) general economic and
business conditions, (k) our cost of financing and the availability
of credit for consumers, (l) foreign exchange controls and currency
fluctuations, (m) the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle
East, (n) the impacts of any potential global recession, and (o)
our ability to maintain sufficient liquidity to operate. For
additional information regarding known material factors that could
cause our actual results to differ from our projected results,
please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they
are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Investor contacts:
Terry
Bratton
Manager, Investor Relations
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
ir@group1auto.com
Media contacts:
Pete
DeLongchamps
Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations, Financial Services
and Public Affairs
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
pdelongchamps@group1auto.com
or
Clint Woods
Pierpont Communications, Inc.
713-627-2223
cwoods@piercom.com
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SOURCE Group 1 Automotive, Inc.