Performance Brokerage Services, the leader in dealership buy-sell activity, announces the sale of Airstream Adventures with six Airstream dealerships in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California to Lithia and Driveway (LAD).
Performance Brokerage Services, North America’s highest volume dealership brokerage firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Airstream Adventures with six Airstream dealerships in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California to Lithia and Driveway (LAD).
Airstream Adventures was founded in 2010 by Ted Davis, Parker Johnstone, and John Dimmer. Recognizing the need for a sales and service experience that was comparable to the iconic Airstream brand, Airstream Adventures redefined the dealership model for Airstream by bringing best practices from the automotive industry into the RV industry. In just three years since inception, Airstream Adventures grew to be the largest Airstream dealer group in the world, accounting for over 15% of Airstream’s total worldwide sales. Airstream Adventures recently achieved a milestone of delivering its 10,000th new Airstream. Per the CEO of Airstream Inc., Bob Wheeler, no other dealer or dealer group in the history of Airstream has achieved this.
Following the sale, Ted Davis commented, “Jesse Stopnitzky and his team provided exceptional strategic advice and a laser targeted list of potential buyers from a variety of industries, not just limiting us to the RV industry. This approach allowed us to maximize our value and find the perfect partner to acquire our entire dealer group that was both an operational and cultural fit. Jesse’s approach was transparent, strategic, and met all the objectives of the owners, our Team Members, our Guests, Airstream, and Lithia. Commitments were made and commitments were kept. Integrity, high work ethic, transparent, driven, and honest are characteristics I would use in describing Jesse and his team.”
Over the last 5 years, Performance Brokerage Services has advised on the sale of over 300 dealerships, making it the highest volume dealership brokerage firm in North America. In 2022, the firm is pacing well-over 100 dealership transactions, marking a record-breaking year. Jesse Stopnitzky, Partner and Director of the RV Division for Performance Brokerage Services, commented, “It was a true honor to represent Ted Davis, an exemplary individual, in this life changing event. In 2021, Ted was awarded by his RV peers the Arthur J. Decio Humanitarian Award for his unwavering dedication to philanthropy and his communities. It has been a pleasure to witness Lithia’s unprecedented growth and their commitment to operate under a higher code of conduct. With shared core values, the merging of these two Oregon-founded companies was the perfect strategic fit! Working with Lithia for over 25 years, our firm is proud to have provided Lithia the opportunity to expand into this new vertical.”
Lithia & Driveway (LAD) started from humble beginnings when Walt DeBoer founded a Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealership in Ashland, Oregon in 1946. Walt’s son, Sid DeBoer, transformed the dealership group into Lithia Motors, Inc., a publicly traded company (NYSE stock symbol-LAD) in 1996. Now a third-generation company, Lithia & Driveway is run by Sid’s son, Bryan DeBoer, CEO & President. According to Automotive News, Lithia ranked as the second highest volume dealership group in the United States, retailing 260,738 new vehicles in 2021, and ranked first through the first half of 2022.
The Airstream Adventures acquisition will add the first Recreational Vehicle franchise to the group’s lineup, bringing their dealership count closer to 300 locations.
Following the sale Bryan DeBoer commented, “We are delighted to welcome the Airstream Adventures stores and its founder, Ted Davis, to our growing Lithia and Driveway family. Ted and his high performing team have done an exceptional job building the nation’s largest exclusive [Airstream] dealer group. We are committed to becoming a steward of the iconic Airstream brand, ensuring that consumers will continue to create memories and adventures that last for generations.”
The dealerships will continue to operate at their current locations:
- Airstream Adventures of Portland in Clackamas, Oregon.
- Airstream Adventures of Seattle in Milton, Washington.
- Airstream Adventures of Boise in Caldwell, Idaho.
- Airstream Adventures of Bay Area in Fairfield, California.
- Airstream Adventures of South Bay in Morgan Hill, California.
- Airstream Adventures of Spokane in Spokane Valley, Washington.
