Automotive Acquisitions in Colorado

EAS Tire & Auto, a Straightaway brand, acquired Total Automotive in Fort Collins, Colorado, marking EAS's 23rd shop in the state. Owner Ross Houk will transition the location to EAS while the shop continues operating with the same team and local focus.

EAS Tire & Auto, a Straightaway brand, has acquired 5th Gear Automotive, adding the shop as the company’s 22nd location in Colorado. The acquisition brings the 5th Gear team into EAS’s network and expands EAS’s ability to serve more local customers across the state.

Club Car Wash has acquired all three operating Express Car Wash Colorado exterior tunnel sites in Colorado Springs. The deal expands Club Car Wash’s presence in the Mountain West and transfers a locally owned, membership-driven three-site platform to the national operator.

AutoNation has acquired Groove Ford and Groove Mazda in Englewood (Denver metro), Colorado, rebranding them as AutoNation Ford Arapahoe and AutoNation Mazda Arapahoe. The two stores sold nearly 5,000 vehicles in 2024 with approximately $219 million in annual revenue and bring nearly 200 associates to AutoNation as part of a strategy to add density and scale in the greater Denver market.

LCI Industries, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lippert Components (CURT), acquired RVibrake, a maker of patented flat-tow braking systems, with the deal closing on March 6, 2025. Lippert obtained RVibrake’s intellectual property (including the RVibrake 3 and RVibrake Shadow) to expand CURT’s flat-towing and safety product portfolio and accelerate new product launches.

EAS Tire & Auto, a Straightaway Tire & Auto brand, completed acquisitions of K-Motion Auto Service (Englewood, CO) and Antero Automotive & Truck Services (Greenwood Village, CO) on January 2 and January 10, 2025, respectively. The add-ons expand Straightaway's Denver-area footprint to 21 locations and densify service coverage while retaining existing teams and local leadership.

Larry VanTuyl, through VT Companies, purchased Groove Subaru in the Denver, Colorado area from Summit Automotive Partners. Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions represented VanTuyl in the transaction; the dealership will retain the Groove name under its new ownership as VanTuyl expands his dealership footprint in Colorado and the Mountain West.

Larry Van Tuyl, through VT Companies, has acquired Groove Toyota from Summit Automotive Partners. The acquisition gives Van Tuyl his first dealership presence in Colorado as he expands his multi-state automotive portfolio.

Les Schwab Tire Centers has acquired Four States Tire & Service in a strategic move to expand its regional footprint across Colorado and New Mexico. FOCUS Investment Banking advised Four States Tire & Service on the sale; the deal is intended to broaden Les Schwab’s retail and service presence while preserving the target’s customer- and community-focused operations.

Corwin Automotive Group has purchased Groove Honda in Colorado Springs, Colorado; the transaction was facilitated by Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions and the dealership will operate under the Corwin Honda name. The press release did not disclose the selling party or transaction financials.

Classic Collision, a national multi-site collision repair operator, has acquired Precision Auto Works in Broomfield, Colorado and Williams Body & Paint in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Both shops were locally/family owned (30 and 20 years respectively) and their owners (Rod Brock and Jerome Williams) are transitioning the locations into Classic Collision's Colorado network to expand the company's market presence.

RealTruck, Inc. has acquired Protex, a web-based 3D product configuration and augmented reality (AR) platform, to integrate advanced vehicle visualization into RealTruck's online catalog and dealer network. The deal brings Protex's founders onto the RealTruck team and aims to expand the platform's vehicle and product coverage to enhance online and in-store shopping experiences.

Buyer Van Olp, represented by Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, purchased Groove Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and Groove Subaru from owner Alex Gillett. The two Silverthorne, Colorado dealerships will operate under the Auto Star Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Auto Star Subaru names.

Concentric Investment Partners has closed a debt and equity investment in Oilex alongside Tamarix Capital Partners and an independent sponsor. Oilex, the largest U.S. operator of Grease Monkey quick-lube locations, is headquartered in Denver and operates 15 Colorado locations and will pursue add-on acquisitions to expand across the Western U.S.

Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions represented Lithia Motors in a late-2022 transaction selling a group of Denver automotive franchises to local operators John Elway and Mitch Pierce. The portfolio included luxury and specialty franchises now operating as Bentley Denver, Lotus Denver, KARMA Denver, Pininfarina Denver and SSC North America (Ferrari Denver was referenced in the announcement). The deal was part of Lithia's portfolio transactions facilitated by Pinnacle.

Lithia Motors purchased three Denver-area luxury dealerships — Ferrari of Denver, Bentley of Denver and Lotus (Lotus of Denver) — in a transaction brokered by Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions. The dealerships were sold by owner Aleks Vekselberg as Lithia expands its luxury and regional retail footprint in Colorado.

WPW Holdings, led by Warren P. Walcher II and longtime Pine Country general manager Nick Horrocks, acquired Pine Country, Inc., a multi-line trailer and specialty vehicle dealer based in Grand Junction, Colorado. The transaction closed April 1, 2022 and was advised by Generational Equity; the acquisition positions the business for operational growth and product/service expansion in the Rocky Mountain region.

Asbury Automotive Group acquired Stevinson Automotive, adding eight dealerships in the Denver, Colorado market and approximately $715 million in annualized revenue. The transaction brings Stevinson’s more than 600 team members into Asbury’s dealer portfolio as part of Asbury’s continued geographic expansion and scale-building in high-growth markets.

Foundation Automotive Corp. has acquired the AutoNation Hyundai 104 dealership in Westminster, Colorado and will operate the site as Foundation Hyundai as part of its Medved Autoplex family. The acquisition is Foundation's 22nd store overall and its seventh in the Colorado market, expanding the group's Hyundai franchise presence in the Denver metro area. AutoNation was the selling party.

MidOcean Partners has acquired FullSpeed Automotive from CenterOak Partners. The transaction gives MidOcean a national auto-aftermarket platform with nearly 600 locations and over 1,350 employees; MidOcean plans to drive growth through organic initiatives, franchise development and strategic M&A.

Bestop, a Kinderhook Industries portfolio company, has acquired Softopper, a designer and manufacturer of convertible soft tops for light-duty pickup trucks and SUVs. The deal—Bestop's sixth add-on under Kinderhook—expands Bestop's product portfolio in the light-duty pickup truck aftermarket; financial terms were not disclosed.

SCA Performance, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has acquired Rocky Mountain Truckworks, an OEM-authorized specialty vehicle manufacturer based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Financial terms were not disclosed; RMT shareholders rolled a portion of proceeds into SCA, Preston Hess remains involved as General Manager, and SCA opened a Fort Collins facility to serve Western U.S. production needs.