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CHICAGO, IL – July 27, 2016; City Capital Advisors, a Chicago boutique investment banking firm serving the middle market, is pleased to announce that it acted as exclusive financial advisor in the sale of America’s PowerSports, Inc. (“APS”), a Dallas based powersports dealership chain, on its sale on June 30, 2016 to CMG Powersports of Phoenix, Arizona (“CMG”).
APS, owned by Wind Point Partners, River Cities Capital Fund and other investors, was once the second largest powersports dealership group in the country, comprised of both Harley-Davidson and multi-line import stores. Companywide sales peaked in 2008, when APS had 20 dealerships and $230 million in revenue. Following the Great Recession, APS downsized to nine dealerships and resumed a strong growth trend.
In 2014, City Capital advised APS on the sale of four of its multi-line dealerships to Freedom Powersports, a portfolio company owned by Trinity Private Equity Group. Last month City Capital assisted APS in selling its five remaining dealerships – three Harley Davidson (“H-D”) stores and two multi-line stores – to CMG, led by longtime automotive and motorcycle dealer William Coulter and his partners Mark Tkach and Robert Dodson.
The acquired operations will be led by Robert Dodson, a 20-year veteran in the industry with experience in both the H-D and multi-line import arenas. Dodson, a former partner/operator and VP of Operations for APS, plans to continue growing APS and strengthen its reputation as a well-respected, top-performing dealership group. Messrs. Coulter, Tkach and Dodson have more than 70 years of combined experience in the industry, a history of developing talent, and a reputation as industry leaders.
“My partners and I are extremely excited about this opportunity,” stated Coulter. “These are five very nice stores in great communities. We hope to bring much-needed stability to the staff and the riding community in these areas after a lengthy sales process. I am confident that under Robert Dodson’s leadership, these stores will be performing at a high level.” APS will continue to operate in the Allen, Texas area going forward.
“This was a more difficult business to sell than we ever expected,” said Tom Andrus, former CEO of APS. “It’s in an industry where no dealership groups of this size and scope had ever traded hands, where traditional debt financing is difficult to come by, and where multiple OEM approval processes can prove daunting and extraordinarily time-consuming, as they did in this case. Ultimately, it made sense to sell the company in two pieces. Our investment bankers at City Capital had to roll up their sleeves and keep them rolled up for quite some time while they skillfully worked the markets to produce the best results possible for the owners of APS, especially during a period in which both the industry and APS began to struggle. We are very grateful for their sustained dedication to this long and ultimately successful sale process.”
About City Capital Advisors
City Capital Advisors, a FINRA registered broker-dealer, is a results-oriented investment banking advisory firm. Each of City Capital’s Managing Directors has more than 20 years of investment banking experience, offering clients the judgment and transaction management expertise honed from successfully executing more than $60 billion of collective merger and capital market transactions. Client engagements are managed exclusively by experienced senior investment bankers, allowing business owners to capture maximum value for their companies and to exceed shareholder objectives.