Haig Partners LLC, a leading buy-sell advisory firm to auto, heavy truck, and RV dealers in the US, served as the exclusive sell-side advisor to the owners of Weiss Toyota of South County in St. Louis, MO on its sale to Victory Automotive Group (“Victory”). Weiss Toyota of South County was owned by partners John Weiss and John Capps. Victory is led by Jeff Cappo and sons Eric Cappo and Mike Cappo and is based in Canton, MI.
Weiss Toyota of South County first opened for business in 1985. The dealership has been the highest volume Toyota dealership in St. Louis for a number of years. It sits on approximately six acres and has almost 35,000 square feet of building space.
“I’ve been a dealer for my entire career and sold all kinds of new vehicles, including Volvos and Ferraris, but the best investment I ever made was to purchase this Toyota dealership,” said John Weiss, dealer principal. “I’ve loved representing the brand and building a talented team. My children decided to go into finance and healthcare, so when I decided I was ready to literally “go fishing” more often, I began to consider selling the dealership. I searched for a buy-sell advisory team that could assist us in finding the best buyer for our business and maintain confidentiality during the sale process. I want to thank Alan Haig, John Davis and Matt DeSantis from Haig Partners for guiding us to an outcome that we are all happy with. They are experts in this industry, seem to know every buyer out there, and did an admirable job representing us. Finally, I’d like to congratulate the Cappo family at Victory Automotive Group. I know they will enjoy working with our long-time general manager, Casey Krebs, and the rest of our team to continue delivering an excellent experience for our customers in the St. Louis area.”
Victory Automotive Group ranked #19 on Automotive News Top 150 dealership group list for 2023, with $2.3B in revenue from the sale of approximately 50,000 new and used vehicles. With the purchase of Weiss Toyota of South County, Victory now owns over 50 dealerships in eleven states. Jeff Cappo stated, “We are excited to be purchasing Weiss Toyota, which is also our first in the great state of Missouri. This dealership is an ideal fit with our strategy of growing with leading brands and strong managers across the US.” The dealership will be rebranded “Victory Toyota St. Louis.”
Alan Haig, President of Haig Partners, shared, “We are proud that John Weiss and his partner selected Haig Partners as their advisor. The best part of our jobs is seeing the happiness on the faces of our clients and their families on closing day. And we congratulate the Cappo family and their Victory Automotive Group for this acquisition of another Toyota dealership. Toyota has done a magnificent job building high-quality vehicles, and this excellence also flows upstream into its dealer network. Dealership buyers seek Toyota stores all over the country thanks to their high profits and diversified business model. Our team has advised on the sale of five Toyota dealerships since 2023, and we are on track to sell another four Toyota dealerships between now and the end of the year. Toyota blue sky values have held up better than most other franchises since profits at Toyota stores have barely budged since 2023 thanks to highly desirable products that offer hybrid powertrains.”
John Davis, Managing Director, added “It was an honor working with John Weiss and his team on this transaction. Florida and Texas get a lot of press related to acquisitions, but the Midwest is one of the best areas for auto retail, given the many population centers and a lower cost of living than most of the country. As a result, acquisitions of dealerships in the Midwest can provide a strong return on investment.”
The team at Haig Partners has been involved in the purchase or sale of 36 Toyota stores nationwide. The sale of Weiss Toyota of South County represents the 67th dealership the team has bought or sold in the Midwest.
