(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
When Berkshire Hathaway completed its $4.1 billion acquisition of the Van Tuyl Group in April 2015, it talked about aggressively adding to its new automotive retailing empire that was rechristened the Berkshire Hathaway Automotive Group.
BHA got off to a promising start, as that same month it acquired Frank Kent Honda of Fort Worth, Texas.
“This is the beginning of a journey that will have no end,” Buffett noted upon completion of the acquisition. “Cecil and Larry have given us the ideal platform with which to build an auto dealership business that will be thriving and growing 50 and 100 years from now. The fun has just started.”
Unfortunately for Berkshire, the acquisition of also Van Tuyl set off a dramatic rise in auto dealership valuations that has rippled throughout the industry, and frustrated efforts for Berkshire to add new dealership groups at what it feels are reasonable valuations.
At the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett acknowledged that they “hadn’t had much luck” in acquiring more dealerships.
BHA finally made some progress this month, acquiring North Park Toyota in San Antonio, Texas. The acquisition includes a 20-year lease of North Park Toyota’s 23.7-acre property that includes an option to buy.
Soaring Valuations
The steep rise in valuations has kept Berkshire Hathaway Automotive mostly on the sidelines even as the Kerrigan Advisors’ Blue Sky Report showed that U.S. dealership buy/sell activity soared to record highs in 2015. The Report noted “activity by new entrants outpacing public company acquisitions by over four to one.”
The Blue Sky Report showed that while the competition for auto dealerships was fierce in 2015, it did not favor the public companies, which in addition to Berkshire Automotive also includes CarMax and Penske Automotive Group.
“A number of iconic multi-dealership groups came to market in 2015 and were acquired by both established consolidators and new entrants. Faced with this stiffer competition, the publics found it more difficult to compete for larger group transactions, and represented just 7% of the buy/sell market in 2015.
Meanwhile new dealership buyers, including family offices, private equity firms, and public conglomerates, acquired 29% of the franchises sold, a stunning accomplishment,” said Erin Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “We believe new entrants will increasingly shape dealership consolidation and meaningfully impact the future of auto retail.”
The Blue Sky Report went on to note that while the market for auto dealerships is still very active, the market may be peaking.
“In 2015, dealership valuations rose to historically high levels, new entrants made sizable acquisitions, manufacturers approved numerous multi-dealership transactions, and real estate prices returned to pre-recession levels,” continued Kerrigan. “In summary, it was a year that is hard to beat.
While the 2016 buy/sell market is expected to be as active as 2015, we anticipate the proportion of sellers completing a successful sale could decline as industry growth plateaus and dealership earnings flatten.”
Buffett Says Please Subtract a Billion
Warren Buffett noted that the $4.1 billion price he paid for Van Tuyl Group also included a billion dollars in securities, as Van Tuyl also has a large float tied to financing and its extended warranty program, which was also acquired by Berkshire.
Buffett said that people should “take a billion off the purchase price,” as the reported price has given other dealership groups an inflated sense of their market value.
Is there still a major auto dealership that’s just ripe for a Berkshire acquisition? There just might be. Read this Mazor’s Edge Special Report.
© 2016 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.