Pinnacle Business Management Expands With Auto Mall Acquisition

6 September 2000

Pinnacle Business Management Expands Focus With Auto Mall Acquisition; Holding Company Takes Control of Successful Pennsylvania Business

    CLEARWATER, Fla. & PITTSBURGH, Pa.--Sept. 6, 2000--In the first step in its development as a multi-industry, multi-market holding company, Pinnacle Business Management (OTCBB: PCBM) has entered into a letter of intent to acquire the All Pro group of companies, a Pittsburgh, Pa. area automotive dealership, AT&T Wireless provider and NEC telecommunications distributor.
    Under terms of the $19.5 million deal, PCBM will acquire All Pro group of companies (located on Route 19 South in the Western Pennsylvania community of Peters Township) from the private firm of Lo Castro & Associates. According to PCBM president Bruce Hall, the deal includes $12 million in hard assets. Also, as a part of the transaction Lo Castro & Associates founder Vincent Lo Castro will become a board member of PCBM.
    Within a 30,000-square-foot, three-story building, All Pro houses a number of interrelated businesses, including a pre-owned car dealership, a Daewoo automobile showroom and a Zimmer dealership. In addition, it has a full parts, service and auto repair center. Also included in the transaction are All Pro Wireless, an authorized AT&T Wireless provider with a 14-year customer base, and All Pro Communications, an NEC-authorized business communications firm which handles sales, installation, service of telecommunications products and is a provider of long distance services.
    "The vertical integration of our interests into businesses related to PCBM's prior activities is a step we have been looking to make," said Hall. "Vince Lo Castro and his team have done an outstanding job building the customer base of All Pro Auto Mall and we see this as an opportunity to balance our overall business and diversify our revenue streams to the benefit of all of our companies."
    All Pro holds a Pennsylvania banking license and frequently finances its own car sales with an extensive "buy here - pay here" portfolio. Combined, the All Pro business accounted for approximately $15 million in sales in 1999. The automobile dealership has been operating for 13 years and was owned by Lo Castro and Associates for the last three years.
    In announcing the acquisition, Hall indicated that the entire All Pro management team will remain in place. "The management team has been together with me for almost two decades," said Lo Castro. "They are an excellent group of talented people who do an outstanding job."
    Pinnacle CEO Jeff Turino said that the company is exploring options to integrate the All Pro banking license as part of the national expansion of Fast PayCheck Advance, another PCBM company.