Rich Lister Nick Politis will pocket $245 million from the sale of some privately owned car dealerships in Victoria to the ASX-listed group Eagers Automotive, in which he has a 27.6 per cent stake.
The dealerships include Essendon BMW and Mercedes-Benz Brighton in Melbourne, and the overall businesses acquired have combined annual revenue of $1 billion. Three properties totalling 53,500 square metres of land are included in the purchase.
Rich Lister Nick Politis is the largest shareholder in car dealership group Eagers Automotive. Tim Bauer
Dealerships in the Melbourne suburbs of Toorak and Mulgrave, and Mercedes-Benz Mornington on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria are also part of the deal.
The transaction requires shareholder approval and an independent expert will be appointed to assess whether Eagers is paying a fair price, given the close association between the seller and buyer.
Mr Politis, who is also chairman of the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League, is a director of Eagers. He was 58th on the Financial Review Rich List in 2023.
Mr Politis said scale was becoming increasingly important as the automotive retailing market changed. “The automotive industry is evolving as rapidly now as at any time in my career,” he said.
“I am convinced larger groups, like Eagers, are best placed to navigate these changes, invest with our key OEM [original equipment manufacturers] partners and grow materially into the future,” he said.
Eagers already operates 200 showrooms selling popular brands including Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, BMW and Subaru, and also distributes the fast-growing electric vehicle brand BYD.
Eagers chief executive Keith Thornton said the company had been looking to expand further in Victoria, where it was under-represented. “It will increase our presence in Melbourne, a region we have previously identified as having significant runway for growth,” he said.
Mr Politis will be issued $25 million in Eagers shares as part of the deal and the remainder of the purchase will be paid in cash.
Eagers in mid-2022 acquired Mr Politis’ privately owned dealerships in the ACT for $193 million. The ACT dealerships and 10 properties acquired made up 30 per cent of the total number of new vehicles sold in the territory each year, and generated $450 million in sales annually.
Mercedes-Benz was in the spotlight six weeks ago when a Federal Court judge threw out a $650 million compensation claim brought against the German car manufacturer by 38 Australian dealerships.
The dealerships alleged they were bullied into signing new agreements stripping them of the valuable “goodwill” they had spent millions of dollars establishing over the years. But Justice Jonathan Beach ruled in favour of Mercedes-Benz and found the dealers did not prove unconscionable conduct.
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