Smart Choice Automotive Group to Acquire Bill Redditt and Warren Wooten Ford Dealerships
11 November 1997
Smart Choice Automotive Group to Acquire Bill Redditt and Warren Wooten Ford Dealerships
TITUSVILLE, Fla., Nov. 11 -- Smart Choice Automotive Group,
Inc. today announced that it has signed Letters of Intent to
acquire two Ford dealerships in East Central Florida. Following completion of
these acquisitions, the Company's automobile retailing network will consist of
five new car dealerships and nineteen used car centers in the State of
Florida.
Bill Redditt Ford, located in Stuart, Florida, has been selling new and
used cars to residents along the East Central Coast of Florida for
approximately 30 years. Revenues during the dealership's most recent fiscal
year approximated $38 million. Bill Redditt Ford is a Ford Special Vehicle
Team dealer, which allows the dealership to sell specialty Ford products such
as the Mustang Cobra, the SVT Contour, and the Taurus SHO.
Warren Wooten Ford, located in Cocoa, Florida, is one of the oldest Ford
dealerships in the United States and the second-oldest in the State of
Florida. As the highest volume Ford dealer in Brevard County, Wooten Ford
generated revenues of approximately $61 million during its most recent fiscal
year.
"Ford Motor Company presently manufactures five of the top ten selling
vehicles in the United States," noted Gary R. Smith, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Smart Choice Automotive Group, Inc. "The new Ford
Expedition is enjoying tremendous success in its inaugural year, while Ford's
F-150 pickup truck has been the number one selling vehicle in the U. S. for
the past ten years. We are delighted to expand our new car retailing network
by acquiring two of the most respected Ford dealerships in the Southeastern
United States."
"Smart Choice intends to continue providing excellence in new car sales
and service to Bill Redditt Ford and Warren Wooten Ford customers, and we
believe the dealerships can substantially increase their sales of used cars
and ancillary products under the Smart Choice corporate umbrella," observed
Joe Alvarez, President of the Automotive Division of Smart Choice Automotive
Group, Inc. "Greater emphasis upon financing and insurance products should
generate incremental revenues and profits for the dealerships, which will also
benefit from the administrative infrastructure which Smart Choice has
developed in East Central Florida."
Smart Choice Automotive Group, Inc. currently operates 22 new and/or used
car dealerships throughout the State of Florida. The Company also
underwrites, finances and services retail installment contracts generated from
the sale of used cars by its dealerships. Smart Choice currently operates in
the following Florida markets: West Palm Beach, Orlando, Stuart, and Tampa/St.
Petersburg. Through wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Company also provides
training, insurance and financial consulting services to unaffiliated
automobile dealerships throughout the United States. The Company's
subsidiary, Eckler Industries, Inc., is one of the nation's largest
aftermarket distributors of Corvette parts and accessories and services over
95,000 customers.
The Company is headquartered in Titusville, Florida and its common stock
trades on Nasdaq under the symbol "SMCH."
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995.
Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ substantially from such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties including but not limited to, continued acceptance of the
Company's products in the marketplace, competitive factors, the availability
of credit lines to finance customer purchases, and other risks detailed in the
Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Smart Choice Automotive Group, Inc.