The acquisition will bring to 35 the total number of new vehicle franchises in South Florida owned by AutoNation. Terms of the all-cash transaction, which is subject to customary conditions and approvals, were not disclosed. Land Rover Fort Lauderdale, currently the nation's 15th largest Land Rover dealership in the United States, generated annual revenue of approximately $63 million and sold 589 new vehicles in 2005. AutoNation currently owns three Land Rover dealerships in the U.S., including the world's largest in Encino, California. "Land Rover Fort Lauderdale is an outstanding addition to our brand mix in the South Florida market," said Michael E. Maroone, AutoNation's president and chief operating officer. "AutoNation has focused on continuing to enhance our luxury portfolio, because we believe luxury vehicles will be the fastest growing segment of automotive retail for the next few years. This transaction underscores our commitment to offer those customers the vehicles and services they want." We anticipate completing the transaction in October 2006. Neither of the current owners will retain a position with AutoNation. AutoNation intends to relocate the Land Rover dealership to a larger facility in the Margate/Coconut Creek area that will offer greater new and used vehicle selection and more service capacity for the convenience of our customers. AUTONATION, INC. AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America's largest automotive retailer and a component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index. AutoNation has approximately 27,000 full-time employees and owns and operates 338 new vehicle franchises in 16 states. For additional information, please visit http://corp.autonation.com/ or 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, including its earnings outlook. Source: AutoNation, Inc. |