The Presidio Group Advises on the Sale of Nalley Ford Sandy Springs

November 18, 2020

A growing dealership group acquires its first Ford franchise

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Presidio Group LLC (“Presidio”), a leading investment bank specializing in retail automotive and related M&A transactions, exclusively represented Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) in the sale of Nalley Ford Sandy Springs in the Atlanta, GA area to the Jim Ellis Automotive Group.

“Asbury was pleased to work with The Presidio Group to complete this transaction,” said David Hult, Asbury’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Their professionalism, expertise and ability to identify the perfect buyer helped provide for a smooth and seamless transaction.”

“We are honored to acquire this Ford dealership, a new brand for our company, and welcome the new team members to the Ellis family,” said Jimmy Ellis, CEO of Jim Ellis Automotive Group. He added: “Ford is a legendary franchise with exciting new products hitting the market, including the new Bronco, and we are thrilled to expand our offerings to our customer base.”

The Jim Ellis Automotive Group is the largest privately-owned dealership group in Atlanta. With 19 new vehicle franchises in greater Atlanta, the family-owned group has served the market for more than 40 years and is a winner of the Consumer’s Choice Award for 11 consecutive years.

“We were pleased to represent Asbury in this transaction and are not surprised that a hot brand such as Ford in a great market like Atlanta would be in demand,” said Brodie Cobb, CEO of The Presidio Group.

“Jim Ellis Automotive Group is an iconic automotive family in Atlanta and we knew this dealership would be the perfect fit for its ever-growing portfolio of franchises,” said Atlanta-based George Karolis, President of The Presidio Group.

Karolis added: “This is the 37^th dealership sold by Presidio this year and transaction activity continues to be robust. In fact, I cannot remember the retail automotive M&A market ever being as strong as it is today.”

With offices in San Francisco and Atlanta, The Presidio Group serves its clients in the automotive industry from coast to coast. It has closed more than $2 billion in transactions in 2020. The Presidio Group provided exclusive M&A advisory services to Asbury Automotive Group through its wholly owned investment bank, Presidio Merchant Partners LLC.

The Presidio Group LLC was founded in 1998 with the simple mission to relentlessly put the interests of our clients first. By steadfastly adhering to this philosophy, the firm has earned the trust of clients throughout the United States. During their careers, the professionals at Presidio have collectively done close to 200 transactions for over $12 billion. It also publishes Presidio’s Where the Rubber Meets the Road, a leading source of information about the automotive retail landscape and the automotive retail M&A environment. The Presidio Group is based in San Francisco, CA. Presidio Merchant Partners LLC is a subsidiary of The Presidio Group LLC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information on Presidio, visit www.thepresidiogroup.com.