Haig Partners was honored to serve as the exclusive sell-side advisor on the sale of La Crosse Truck Center Ford and La Crosse Truck Center Mack-Isuzu. La Crosse Truck Center Ford was sold to Dahl Automotive, which has 13 franchised auto dealerships throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, and La Crosse Truck Center Mack-Isuzu was sold to Kriete Truck Centers, which has 11 Volvo and Mack locations throughout Wisconsin.
La Crosse Truck Center Ford and Mack-Isuzu were previously part of River States Truck and Trailer. Last month, in a separate transaction, Haig Partners advised on the sale of its three Freightliner-Western Star dealerships to Premier Truck Group, a subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG). The La Crosse Truck Center Ford dealership is one of the Ford’s last remaining medium-duty-only dealerships, and the Mack-Isuzu dealership sells and services both medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Joe Laux, the former owner and CEO of River States, shared, "When we decided to sell our business, the team at Haig Partners provided unparalleled expertise and guidance. Their knowledge of the medium and heavy-duty truck market was invaluable. They were instrumental in navigating the complexities of selling to multiple parties, ensuring that each dealership found the right home. I’d like to thank Derek Garber and Erik Haig for handling these most recent sales of the Ford and Mack-Isuzu dealerships. They did an impressive job and I’m very happy with the outcome."
Derek Garber, Vice President at Haig Partners, stated, “It was a privilege to work with Joe Laux on these transactions. During his career, Joe built an empire that included Freightliner, Western Star, Mack, Isuzu and Ford franchises. When Joe decided it was time to sell, he trusted our team at Haig Partners to find him the best possible outcome for each of his three businesses (categorized here as: River States Truck and Trailer, La Crosse Truck Center Ford and La Crosse Truck Center Mack-Isuzu).
“Drawing from our past experience with heavy truck buy-sells, we did not believe that one single buyer would receive OEM approval to acquire all of Joe’s franchises. So, to get Joe an optimal outcome, we had to split up his empire. We then identified and approached the best possible buyers for each of the three businesses. While it was challenging to run three concurrent transactions, each with a different counterparty, we were still able to overcome OEM restrictions, navigate two closings with CDK still shut down, and ultimately deliver a successful outcome for our client. Congratulations to Joe Laux and his family, as well as to Andrew Dahl and David Kriete on their newest acquisitions.”
