Toyota dealerships, Stellantis, acquired by Graham Ourisman Automotive

A partnership between publicly traded conglomerate Graham Holdings Co. and Chris Ourisman of Ourisman Automotive Group, which has indicated it is looking to expand after buying a Ford store last year, last week bought two dealerships in Virginia.

Graham Ourisman Automotive bought Lustine Toyota and Lustine Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Woodbridge from the Lustine family on July 5.

The stores have been renamed Toyota of Woodbridge and Ourisman Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Woodbridge, said Ourisman, president of Ourisman Automotive Group. Woodbridge is just south of Washington, DC

“We’re really looking to find businesses that have a cultural fit in terms of leadership, in terms of how they are in their communities,” Urisman said.

The acquisition is the first for the partnership since then bought a Ford dealership in Manassas, Virginia., in December. Now the company has six stores.

Graham Ourisman Automotive was formed when Graham and Chris Ourisman teamed up in early 2019 to buy a Lexus store in Rockville, Maryland, and a Honda store in Tysons Corner, Virginia.by Sonic Automotive Inc. Later that year, the partners added an open-air, stand-alone Jeep dealership, Ourisman Jeep, in Bethesda, Maryland.

While the latest acquisition also happened in the Washington area, Urisman said the partnership remains interested in expanding into new markets as long as the potential deal is for a platform or group of stores rather than a single dealership.

“Our thesis about the acquisition is still the same,” he said Automotive news. “If there are opportunities in the D.C. metro area that are right for us, it’s easy and we can really build the scale that we have. We are also interested in other leading metro markets across the country. certain scale to enter the market.’

Graham, who has other ventures ranging from television stations and restaurants to education company Kaplan Inc. and health care teams, did not disclose the purchase price of the Woodbridge stores. But it said it has a 90 percent stake in the dealerships and four others it owns with Ourisman.

Graham reported income from her dealership business “increased significantly” in the first quarter, which was largely due to the addition of a Ford dealership. Graham also noted that sales were up at other dealerships, which also had higher average selling prices for new and used cars.

Graham said automotive operating income was $7.1 million in the first quarter, compared with $524,000 last year. Automotive operating income more than doubled to $151 million.

Ourisman Automotive is ranked 20th Automotive news‘ list of the top 150 dealer groups in the USretailing 29,564 new vehicles in 2021.

Haig Partners, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based buying and selling firm, represented the Lustin family in the deal with the Woodbridge dealership.