LTA Auto Group, a division American Automotive Capital Partners, has acquired Golden State Nissan and Golden State Infiniti and changed the names to Nissan of Serramonte and Infiniti of Serramonte.
The dealership acquisitions are the first of what American Automotive Capital Partners aims to be many, said T.J. Anthony, co-founder and CEO of AACAP.
“We’re fundamentally focused on building regional, well, in Northern California [and] Southern California, regional dealership platforms,” Anthony told WardsAuto in an interview.
The Nissan and Infiniti franchises are located in Colma, a city in the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California. They were previously owned by Wise Auto Group.
AACAP is bringing in new general managers and some other senior staff because the former managers left when the dealerships were acquired, Anthony said.
But generally, AACAP aims to keep the management and staff when it acquires a dealership, he added.
“Not only for the sake of continuity,” Anthony said, “but because we value people’s experience, and we also value the fact that dealerships do well when you can nurture your employees and develop, train and develop and grow them over the long run.”
Executives with retail auto cred
Formed in 2022, AACAP is a corporation which uses investors’ funds to acquire dealerships, Anthony explained. He declined to name specific investors.
The dealerships are held on AACAP’s balance sheet, “and AACAP Inc. puts together a portfolio over time that encompasses all the dealerships that we have acquired and operate,” he said.
Anthony is a former Wall Street lawyer with a background in structuring and building out businesses.
AACAP co-founder and CFO Sergio Maruschak worked in finance for Asbury Automotive Group, among other previous retail auto experience.
Co-founder and COO Robert Carmendy has been a dealer owner, operator and general manager, including running a high-volume Northern California BMW dealership.
AACAP is counting on their retail automotive credibility to lead to more acquisitions.
