EDMONTON, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - AutoCanada Inc.
("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ) announced today that it
has obtained approval from Audi
Canada and Volkswagen Canada to purchase the shares of The
St. James Group of Companies ("St. James"), which own and operate
two premium brand franchises, Audi and Volkswagen, located in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. Each of
the two franchises are equipped with a six car showroom and are
located adjacent to each other on a property owned by St. James. The two franchises share a
collision center and service department consisting of 27 service
bays. In 2012, the franchises retailed a combined 642 new
vehicles and 252 used vehicles. The expected closing date for
the transaction is April 1, 2013.
"The approval from Audi
Canada represents the addition of a new and storied brand to
our portfolio, and we are most pleased with this development.
We would also like to thank Volkswagen Canada for their continued
support by approving the purchase of the Volkswagen franchise, a
brand with which we have developed a strong partnership over the
past three years and which we consider a key partner." stated
Pat Priestner, Chief Executive
Officer of AutoCanada.
"St. James has
developed a strong reputation throughout its forty year history in
Winnipeg. We would like to
thank the current owners, Russ, Rick and Melanie for selecting our
group for succession. The St.
James Group is well respected in the industry and in 2011
was awarded the prestigious VW Wolfsberg Crest Club Award for
overall excellence in sales, service, and customer service; an
award that the current management team should be very proud of and
something we will continue to strive to achieve." stated Mr.
Priestner.
About AutoCanada
AutoCanada is one of Canada's largest
multi-location automobile dealership groups, currently operating 28
franchised dealerships in six provinces and has over 1,200
employees. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep,
Ram, FIAT, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick,
Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen
branded vehicles. In 2012, our dealerships sold approximately
30,000 vehicles and processed approximately 309,000 service
and collision repair orders in our 333 service bays during that
time.
Additional information about AutoCanada Inc. is
available at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at
www.autocan.ca.
SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.