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Republic Industries To Acquire John Lance Ford In Ohio

1 May 1997

Republic Industries To Acquire John Lance Ford In Ohio

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 1 -- Republic Industries, Inc.
announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to
acquire John Lance Ford of Westlake, Ohio in a transaction valued at
approximately $19 million, payable in Republic common stock.  The acquisition
will be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting and is subject
to certain manufacturer and government approvals.
    John Lance Ford is one of the nation's oldest Ford dealerships to be held
by the same family.  The fourth generation Ford dealership was founded by the
Lance family in 1914. The dealership had 1996 revenue of approximately
$65 million. John Lance Ford is a recent recipient of Ford's North American
Customer Excellence Award.
    The proposed acquisition would complement The Mullinax Group, a Republic
automotive dealership group which operates several Ford dealerships in the
Cleveland area, and its announced acquisition of the Artz Automotive Group,
which operates Lincoln-Mercury, Jeep-Eagle, Isuzu and Hyundai dealerships,
also in the Cleveland area.
    As part of the transaction, John M. Lance, Sr., 61, and Christopher Lance,
30, will sign long-term employment agreements with Republic and will continue
in their respective roles at the dealership.
    Commenting on the proposed acquisition, Steven R. Berrard, President and
Co-Chief Executive Officer of Republic, said, "This acquisition, along with
the Mullinax and Artz operations, gives Republic a significant presence in the
important Cleveland automotive market. We are pleased to welcome the Lance
family into the Republic family and we look forward to growing our business
together."
    John Lance said, "We are extremely pleased to be joining Republic. We
share a strong commitment to customer satisfaction and are looking forward to
working with Republic to change automotive retailing."
    Republic Industries, Inc. is a diversified holding company with
subsidiaries operating in the automotive retailing, automotive rental, solid
waste services and electronic security services industries.  The company owns
the nation's largest chain of new vehicle dealerships, which operate under
their regionally known business names, and is building a chain of used car
megastores which operates under the AutoNation USA brand name. Republic
Industries also owns Alamo Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental System.

SOURCE  Republic Industries, Inc.