As their first foray into the Manitoba market, the North American auto group, AutoCanada, has purchased Kelleher Ford, a large new and used vehicle Ford dealership and collision centre, located in Brandon, Manitoba.
“This high-quality operation is our second Ford dealership and initiates our presence in Western Manitoba – an attractive truck market, while providing the opportunity to further expand our presence in the market,” said AutoCanada Executive Chairman, Paul Antony. “We are pleased to welcome the team from Kelleher Ford, and we look forward to many opportunities for continued growth as we integrate them into our strong portfolio of dealerships.”
As the largest Ford dealership in Western Manitoba, Kelleher Ford currently operates more than 35,000 square feet of facilities on seven acres, including a collision centre, all of which is included in the purchase. AutoCanada will maintain Kelleher’s current management team, which will continue to strengthen the dealership’s performance, while this acquisition unlocks additional growth opportunities, including the potential to expand AutoCanada’s used vehicle, finance and insurance, collision and RightRide businesses.
According to the AutoCanada statement, the Kelleher dealership, including the collision centre, “generates in excess of $50 million in annual revenue.” The transaction will be funded from a drawdown of the Company’s credit facility and is “expected to be accretive to 2022 earnings.”
AutoCanada is a North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 81 franchised dealerships, comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded vehicles. In 2021, AutoCanada dealerships sold approximately 86,000 vehicles.
