(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
With the completion of Berkshire Hathaway’s $4.1 billion acquisition of the Van Tuyl Group, the largest privately owned auto dealership group in the U.S., the newly rechristened Berkshire Hathaway Automotive has already begun its acquisition of additional auto dealers.
Frank Kent Honda of Fort Worth, Texas, is the first to be purchased by BHA.
The business will be renamed Honda of Fort Worth.
The dealership, which was one of the oldest family-owned dealerships in Texas, features an $18 million new Honda showroom that was built in 2010.
Frank Kent Honda had been owned since 2005 by Will Churchill and Corrie Watson, who are great-grandchildren of dealership founder Frank Kent.
In making its first acquisition, BHA is competing in a red hot market that is quickly consolidating.
Investor George Soros, through his Soros Fund Management, has stated that the he is actively looking to purchase a large auto dealership group.
As for Warren Buffett, this is just a beginning that will surely see Berkshire moving up in market share from its current starting point in fifth place.
“This is the beginning of a journey that will have no end,” Buffett noted upon completion of the acquisition of the Van Tuyl Group. “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.”
© 2015 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.