MD Johnson, Inc. Advises Keith Hagerty on the Sale of Brewer Chrysler to Tom Matson. Sale Completes Chrysler Genesis Alignment in Auburn, Washington

MD Johnson, Inc. announces that Keith Hagerty has completed the sale of his Chrysler dealership, Brewer Chrysler, to Tom Matson Sr., in Auburn Washington. Matson is the owner of Tom Matson Dodge Jeep and the adjoining Chrysler Motor Company Dealer. For more than a half century, Matson has been a dealer in the Auburn Washington market. Hagerty has also enjoyed a long family history in the automobile business in Auburn. Both Matson and Hagerty's fathers were automobile dealers and in 2006, Matson acquired the adjoining Jeep dealership from the Robert's family, another long tenured family in the Auburn automotive market. The new acquisition for Matson will be placed in Matson's new, state of the art facility located in Auburn Washington on Auburn's auto row. MD Johnson, Inc. represented Hagerty in the transaction and Mark Topping, VP of MD Johnson, Inc. was the transaction manager responsible for completing the transaction on behalf of MD Johnson, Inc. and Hagerty.

Hagerty's family purchased the dealership from Chris Brewer, who started the dealership in 1952. Gene Hagerty, Keith's father, worked for Chris Brewer in numerous capacities and bought Chris Brewer out in 1974. Keith Hagerty became involved in the business in 1971 and took over the business from his father and at the time of closing, Brewer was the oldest franchised Chrysler dealer in King and Pierce County in Washington State. Tom Matson Sr. is actually Tom Matson III and works with his son, Tom Matson IV and his grandson, Tom Matson V. Matson is an iconic automobile dealer in Washington State as well as an accomplished Helicopter pilot.

Mark Johnson, President of MD Johnson, Inc. stated that, "Tom's acquisition of the Chrysler franchise completes a small piece of a long process undertaken by Chrysler a number of years ago. Chrysler has been actively pursuing getting dealers to consolidate into a single location. As with Matson and Hagerty, after years of being competitors in the same line of cars and in the same market, it is difficult to come to the conclusion that it no longer makes sense to compete in a domestic market that has shrunk." Johnson further commented that, "Chrysler is involved in pursuing these alignments nationally and we have been fortunate enough to assist our dealer clients and Chrysler in making these often contentious sales happen."

Topping stated that, "Andy Conn and Jason Baldwin of Chrysler's West business center in Irvine were instrumental in helping put this transaction together and never wavered on their commitment to their dealers." Topping, himself a former Chrysler dealer, further stated that, "MD Johnson, Inc. is involved in a number of these sale and acquisition projects with all of the domestic manufacturers and that each individual transaction presents a new set of challenges." Johnson said, "Like some of the other alignment projects we have advised on, the real estate in this transaction is under contract and will be purchased by another party at a later date. It requires a great deal of patience and ingenuity to deal with multiple parties. As in Hagerty's transaction, it takes a buyer for the dealership, a buyer for the real estate and a manufacturer relocating a franchise all to agree on the terms and conditions of the sale. In today's economic climate, the outcome is not always assured."

MD Johnson, Inc. is a mergers/acquisitions and financial advisory services firm specializing in Advisory Services to automobile dealers, dealership management companies and dealership lawyers and CPA's. In addition to standard M and A services, the firm provides detailed Valuation, Consolidation, Succession, Strategic Planning and Transaction Management Services for its clients. The firm's clients include public and private groups and individual owners located throughout the US. Previous press releases are archived at http://WWW.MDJOHNSONINC.COM