By Alysha Webb, Editor and Publisher
This publication has been highlighting the right of first refusal since we were launched earlier this year. Other automotive industry publications are frequently writing about it now, as well. ROFR, as it is usually referred to in the buy sell world, is on the rise.
In this issue, I talk to Len Bellavia, the attorney handling the high-profile Napleton suit against Jaguar Land Rover and Long Island Automotive, about ROFR. He posits that state legislatures becoming more involved in the sale of dealerships in their state is driving the increase. He also suggests that state legislatures should do more to protect dealers against improperly exercised ROFR and tells me what he thinks constitutes improper.
Canada is another area we have been keeping an eye on. I interviewed Tom Orysiuk, president of AutoCanada, the country’s only public, a few months ago, about its expansion plans. Now, Capital Automotive Real Estate Services, CARS that is, has acquired dealership real estate in Canada, a move that is related to the market’s consolidation.
In this issue we have a column from a buy sell firm up North. Farid Ahmad, president of Dealer Solutions Canada, lays out his ten steps to buying or selling a dealership. It will sound familiar to readers in the U.S., eh?
But consider that there are only around 3,300 dealerships in Canada and only one publicly-listed dealership group. If the deals are leading to consolidation, the impact is potentially bigger than in a much larger market such as the U.S.
