Auto Retailer Completes Hennessy Acquisition: The Atlanta Deal Sheet
An automotive retail chain has completed its purchase of the Hennessy Automobile Cos. stores in Metro Atlanta, including three major dealerships in the suburbs at more than $20M each.
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Group 1 Automotive agreed in July to buy Hennessy’s 10 dealerships and one collision center for around $1.3B. The acquisition included Hennessy’s Porsche North Atlanta at 990 Mansell Road in Roswell, Porsche Atlanta Northwest in Marietta, Lexus of Gwinnett and Jaguar Land Rover in Buckhead, according to the sale agreement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Group 1 said it completed the acquisition on Monday, according to a new SEC filing.
Sales tax records filed with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority database reveal the individual prices of three dealerships in the portfolio. Group 1 paid $25.7M for Hennesy Ford Lincoln Atlanta at 5676 Peachtree Blvd. in DeKalb County, $23.1M for Hennessy Lexus Atlanta just down the road from the Ford Lincoln dealership and $23.3M for the Porsche Atlanta Northwest dealership off Windy Hill Road.
According to Group 1, the Hennessy purchase was financed through a private placement that included $625M in senior notes at 6.25%, due in 2032, and another $625M in senior notes at 6.625%, due in 2035.
The purchase made Atlanta the second-largest market in revenue in the U.S. for Group 1, CEO Daryl Kenningham said during a July earnings call. The Hennessy stores each average $170M in revenue, more than double the national norm, and the company expects the chain to pull in about $1.7B in revenue, he said.
“These are premium brands. They are premium stores,” Kenningham said during the call. “We are really happy with what we paid for these stores, especially compared to what we have seen in other transactions that we’ve either been bidding in or have learned about. And so we’re really pleased with the valuation and what we paid.”
SALES
An LLC tied to Taurus Investment Holdings purchased 200 Tradeport Blvd. — an 83K SF flex industrial property off Interstate 75 near the Porsche North American headquarters — for $21.6M from an LLC tied to Brookfield Properties, according to sales tax records in the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority database.
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Brookfield, for its part, purchased two land parcels in DeKalb County from homebuilder Toll Brothers for $25.4M, according to sales tax records in the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority database. The transaction includes 7 acres at 1570 La France St. and another 2 acres at 1577 La France St., according to DeKalb records.
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Elmington Residential, in a joint venture with American South Capital Partners, bought The Asher at Sugarloaf, a 260-unit apartment complex in Lawrenceville, from Federal Capital Partners for $55M, Multifamily Dive reported.
The workforce housing complex was developed in 2008.
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Chicago-based Pine Tree, an open-air shopping center investor, purchased Towne Center Prado from Site Centers for an undisclosed sum. The 327K SF shopping center — anchored by Barnes & Noble, Ross Dress for Less and Publix Super Markets — was part of a larger 10-property transaction acquired by Pine Tree for $644M, totaling 3.5M SF and including shopping centers in Arizona, North Carolina and New York. Towne Center, located at 50 Ernest Barrett Parkway in Marietta, was the only center in Metro Atlanta.
Site purchased the property in 2009 for $45.9M, according to Cobb County property records.
ASSIGNMENTS
The Sandy Springs City Council approved a resolution that gives Trammell Crow Co. the green light to begin planning the next phase of its City Springs mixed-use downtown development. The site involves 5.5 acres in the heart of the suburban Atlanta city, with Trammell Crow as the master developer. Third and Urban, DSM Real Estate Partners and Hedgewood Homes are also involved in the project.
The developers are looking to add more retailers and restaurants, a boutique hotel, additional green space, and both single-family and multifamily housing, according to a press release.
PERSONNEL
Teddy Driscoll has joined Colliers in Atlanta as vice president of industrial capital markets, where he will focus on industrial sales and dispositions. Driscoll previously worked with Atlantic Capital Partners as an associate.
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Atlanta retail brokerage giant TSCG promoted Susan Ahlheit as chief operating officer and David Huntley as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, reporting to co-CEO Sam Latone. The duo replaces Bob Wordes, who is retiring at the end of the year after two decades with the firm.
LEASES
Atlanta legal giant Alston & Bird LLP inked a 295K SF renewal at One Atlantic Center, the 1.1M SF tower in Midtown, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The deal means Alston & Bird — with 400 attorneys and 750 full-time employees — is shrinking from its current 340K SF footprint.
Savills represented the law firm in the deal, according to the ABC. Starwood, which purchased the tower in 2016 from Hines, plans to make “a significant capital investment” in the 50-story tower to ensure “that One Atlantic Center continues to set the standard for design, service and best-in-class experience,” a spokesperson told the ABC.
