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Sonic Automotive, Inc. Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

5 February 1999

Sonic Automotive, Inc. Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 4 -- Sonic Automotive, Inc.
, an automotive retailer operating in the southeastern,
southwestern and midwestern United States, announced today that it has filed a
registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the
proposed underwritten public offering of 8,058,293 shares of its Class A
Common Stock.
    The offering is expected to be made in March through Merrill Lynch & Co.;
BancBoston Robertson Stephens; Stephens, Inc. and NationsBanc Montgomery
Securities LLC.
    Of the shares offered, 7,000,000 newly issued shares will be sold by Sonic
and 1,058,293 shares will be sold on behalf of selling stockholders. Sonic
will grant the underwriters an option to acquire up to an additional 1,063,156
shares of Class A Common Stock to cover overallotments, and a selling
stockholder will grant a similar option to the underwriters for up to an
additional 145,588 shares.
    Sonic will use net proceeds from the offering to fund pending and future
acquisitions and to repay debt incurred to fund previous acquisitions.
    A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These
securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time
the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall
there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any state.