Warren Buffett To Buy Automobile Dealerships
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to acquire America’s fifth-largest auto retailer, privately held Van Tuyl Group, with revenues of $9 billion. Berkshire plans to launch a consolidation of this highly fragmented business.
I am quoted in a Wall Street Journal article on this topic:
“This deal appears to be a modest-size purchase. David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, said a comparison of Van Tuyl’s revenue to publicly traded peers suggests the price tag may have been about $3 billion.”
The entire article is available at:
I am also quoted in a Wall Street Journal blog:
“It’s unclear what Van Tuyl’s profitability or free cash flow are, and a company’s price tag is usually based on a multiple of one of those. But David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, said a comparison of Van Tuyl’s revenue to publicly traded peers suggests the price tag for the deal may have been about $3 billion.”
The entire blog is available at:
On Marketplace (American Public Radio) I am quoted as follows:
“It is also exciting for the auto industry that Buffett is getting involved with. “I think it is a positive signal to investors and consumers, for that matter, that this is a very healthy, growing industry,” says David Kass, who teaches finance at the University of Maryland and closely tracks Berkshire Hathaway.”
This interview is available at:
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/case-buying-car-dealerships
