Haig Partners Serves As Exclusive Sell-Side Advisor To Swickard Auto Group On The Sale Of Mercedes-Benz Of Atlanta South

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Haig Partners LLC, the leading buy-sell advisory firm to higher-value auto dealers, was the exclusive sell-side advisor to Swickard Auto Group ("Swickard") in the sale of its Mercedes-Benz dealership in Atlanta, Georgia, to Jim Ellis Auto Group. Swickard owns 23 franchises in Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska, and is one of Automotive News' Top 150 Dealership Groups. Jeff Swickard, CEO, is also the chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Advisory Board.

Jeff Swickard said, "Normally we are buyers, not sellers. But we decided to divest Mercedes-Benz of South Atlanta since it was far from our growing base of stores on the West Coast. Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz is extremely important to us so we wanted to sell to a dealer with an excellent reputation with luxury customers. We respect Alan Haig and his team and we asked for their assistance in helping us to achieve our objectives. He, Mike Toth and John Davis led a highly confidential process by approaching a very small number of potential buyers that matched our ideal profile for a buyer. We were delighted to sell our dealership to the Jim Ellis Automotive Group, the largest family-owned dealership group in the Atlanta area. They will make an excellent partner for Mercedes-Benz and provide a superior experience for the customers in South Atlanta."

"Mercedes-Benz has always been a leading brand in Atlanta, and even more so now that its US headquarters are located here," said Jim Ellis, CEO of Jim Ellis Automotive Group which owns 21 franchises in Atlanta. "Our family and management team are thrilled to be able to represent Mercedes-Benz in our hometown and excited to continue the tradition of owning and operating German dealership brands which dates back 50 years. We thank Jeff Swickard for the opportunity to continue to build on what he started."

"It was our pleasure to assist Jeff Swickard on this transaction," said Alan Haig, President of Haig Partners. "The sale is similar to engagements we have had with other leading and growing dealership groups, such as Asbury Automotive, CarMax, Hendrick Automotive Group, Holman Automotive, and Prime Automotive, that have retained us recently to divest assets that did not fit with their core operations. All of these leading groups wanted to maximize their proceeds while preserving confidentiality.  Current market conditions for sellers are excellent and we expect the pace of consolidation will remain strong for the foreseeable future."  

Haig Partners LLC is a boutique investment banking firm and the leading buy-sell advisory firm to owners of higher value auto, heavy truck, and RV dealerships.  Since 1996, the principals at Haig Partners have completed more than 280 dealership transactions for more than 525 dealerships totaling over $7.8 billion, more than any other team in the industry.  For more information, visit www.haigpartners.com. They also publish the widely followed Haig Report that tracks trends in the auto industry and how they impact dealership valuations and are co-authors of NADA's, "A Dealer Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership."  The latest Haig Report is available here. 

Media Contact: Aimee Allen, [email protected]

SOURCE Haig Partners LLC

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