Republic Buys Major Florida Car Dealer

Billionaire Wayne Huizenga’s Republic Industries Inc. added another sales outlet to its mushrooming auto-retailing business with the $200-million acquisition Tuesday of a leading Florida car dealer.

Maroone Automotive Group is Republic’s second car dealership acquisition in as many days. On Monday, it agreed to buy Grubb Automotive Inc., which operates six Phoenix-area dealerships, for $100 million in stock.

Also this week, Republic struck an agreement with General Motors Corp. to allow it to acquire GM car and truck franchises throughout the U.S. That follows a similar agreement with Ford Motor Co.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. agreed to sell Budget Rent a Car to its largest franchisee for $350 million, the third rental-car company sale in three months.

Republic in recent months has agreed to buy two of the nation’s five biggest car-rental companies--National Car Rental System Inc. for $2.3 billion in stock and debt, and Alamo Rent a Car for $625 million in stock.

Republic has acquired 14 car dealerships within a year to complement and support its fledgling chain of haggle-free, high-service dealerships, AutoNation USA. More acquisitions are certain, the company said.

“We plan to have new vehicle stores in markets where we are developing AutoNation,” Huizenga said Tuesday. The company has opened seven AutoNation superstores in California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan and Texas, and plans to have 90 by 2000.

Republic’s stock gained $1.125 to close at $37 on the Nasdaq market. Ford gained 50 cents to close at $33.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Republic said it was issuing stock to acquire Maroone, which operates seven dealerships in new and used vehicles, including the nation’s fourth-largest Chevrolet dealership, third-biggest Dodge dealer and the leading Isuzu dealer. Six of the dealerships are in southern Florida and the seventh is in Buffalo, N.Y.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Republic tapped Michael Maroone, head of Maroone Automotive, as president of its burgeoning new-car division. In addition to the Chevrolet, Dodge and Isuzu franchises, Maroone owns Ford and Oldsmobile franchises.

New-car dealers like Maroone provide AutoNation with yet another source of vehicles through trade-ins, the company said, adding that it further rounds out the company’s plan to grab a slice of the giant automobile business.

Republic is building a “major presence” in all aspects of the car business, said spokesman Ron Castell, adding, “We’re getting into new cars, used cars, trade-in cars and we’re going to sell them, rent them and lease them.”

In a buying spree, Republic and Huizenga have acquired Mullinax Inc., the largest Ford dealer in the United States, Magic Ford and Magic Lincoln-Mercury in Valencia, and leading Southwestern Dodge dealer Bell Dodge.

“Republic is now one of the largest purchasers of new vehicles,” Montgomery Securities analyst Jordan Hymowitz said in a recent report. “As such, we believe they have an increased ability to request vehicles [makes, models, etc.] as well as rental terms to meet its retailing terms.”