FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AutoNation, Inc.
(NYSE: AN), America's largest automotive retailer, today announced that it has
signed an agreement to acquire Schooley Cadillac from owner Charles W.
Schooley, III. The dealership is located at 2101 45th Street in West Palm
Beach, Florida.
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, making it
AutoNation's second Cadillac dealership in Florida and the company's 32nd
dealership in South Florida. One of the oldest and most well-known luxury
automotive retailers in the area, Schooley Cadillac has been owned by the
Schooley family continuously since it first opened in 1952.
Terms of the all-cash asset transaction, which is subject to customary
conditions and approvals, were not disclosed. AutoNation estimates that the
annual revenue from the dealership will be approximately $54 million.
The dealership occupies approximately 10 acres in a prime retail location
in suburban Palm Beach County, including a state-of-the-art service facility
and body shop.
"Cadillac has been experiencing a strong resurgence recently by offering
products that a broad range of consumers find appealing, and the team at
Schooley has proven to be great representatives for the revitalized brand,"
said Michael E. Maroone, AutoNation's president and chief operating officer.
"We look forward to their contributions as part of the AutoNation team, and we
expect that Schooley Cadillac will become an outstanding addition to the
strong line of luxury vehicles we offer at AutoNation."
In fact, Schooley Cadillac is the most recent addition to what is already
an impressive number of prestigious luxury dealerships in the South Florida
area. The company also owns and operates Mercedes-Benz of Miami, Mercedes-
Benz of Fort Lauderdale, Mercedes-Benz of Pembroke Pines, and Lexus of Palm
Beach.
Currently, AutoNation now offers 15 brands of vehicle at locations from
Miami to West Palm Beach, including Chevrolet, Chrysler/Jeep, Dodge, Ford,
Honda, Isuzu, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln-Mercury, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Oldsmobile
and Toyota. AutoNation's dealerships also offer used vehicles, parts and
service, and finance and insurance products.
About AutoNation, Inc.
AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America's
largest automotive retailer. Ranked No. 97 on the 2004 Fortune 500 and a
component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, AutoNation employs
approximately 28,000 people and owns and operates 365 new vehicle franchises
in 18 states. For additional information, please visit
http://corp.AutoNation.com or http://www.AutoNation.com, where more than
100,000 vehicles are available for sale.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements and information included in this release constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Additional discussion
of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
management's projections, estimates and expectations is contained in the
Company's SEC filings. The Company undertakes no duty to update its forward-
looking statements.
SOURCE AutoNation, Inc.
-0- 09/14/2004
/CONTACT: Marc Cannon of AutoNation, Inc., +1-954-769-3146, or
cannonm@autonation.com/
/Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001017/AUTONATIONLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/750525.html/
/Web site: http://corp.autonation.com /
(AN)
CO: AutoNation, Inc.; Schooley Cadillac
ST: Florida
IN: AUT REA
SU: TNM
AC-KW
-- FLTU014 --
9165 09/14/2004 16:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com