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Gee Automotive Acquisition
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Tonkin sale doesn’t affect TD
Dec 16, 2016 | The Dalles Chronicle
By RaeLynn Ricarte
Ron Tonkin’s dealership in The Dalles was not among those sold to a Spokane-based company -
Hops stadium to keep 'Ron Tonkin' name despite sale
Dec 16, 2016 | Hillsboro Tribune
By Wade Evanson
A 10-year agreement signed in 2014 will keep Hops home games at Ron Tonkin Field -
Tonkin Dealerships Sold
Dec 16, 2016 | KXL News
PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies. -
Ron Tonkin Car Dealerships Sold to Spokane Group Says Report
Dec 14, 2016 | Portland Patch
By Colin Miner
Portland Business Journal reports that Tonkin dealerships will keep their name despite being bought by Gee Automotive. -
Tonkin Dealerships sold to Spokane auto group
Dec 14, 2016 | KGW-TV
By Malia Spencer
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies. -
Morning Roundup - Spokane company buys Ron Tonkin dealerships
Dec 14, 2016 | Oregon Business
By Katy Sword
Spokane company buys Ron Tonkin dealerships -
5 things to know today, and how the (reported) new Interior Secretary's Oregon teams fared
Dec 14, 2016 | Portland Business Journal
By Andy Giegerich
Two pieces of huge news yesterday. One, from the PBJ's Malia Spencer: The venerable Tonkin family of dealerships has changed hands. Spokane-based Gee Automotive is also a family business. It picked up Tonkin's 21 dealerships in the Portland metro area. -
Gee Automotive acquires Ron Tonkin Dealerships in Oregon
Dec 13, 2016 | The Spokesman Review
By Scott Maben
Gee Automotive Cos., the regional auto dealership group founded in Spokane, will become one of the largest dealership groups on the West Coast with the acquisition of Ron Tonkin Dealerships in Portland. -
Ron Tonkin dealerships sold to Spokane company
Dec 13, 2016 | The Oregonian
By Anna Marum
Ron Tonkin, which operates 21 dealerships throughout the Portland area and in The Dalles, has sold to Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies, the Portland Business Journal reports. -
Tonkin Dealerships sold to Spokane auto group
Dec 13, 2016 | Portland Business Journal
By Malia Spencer
Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies. -
Ron Tonkin sells to Spokane dealership
Dec 13, 2016 | The Portland Tribune
By Jim Redden
In the largest automotive deal in the Pacific Northwest, Portland-based Ron Tonkin Dealership has been bought by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies. -
Gee Automotive buys 16 Ron Tonkin Dealerships
Dec 14, 2016 | Automotive News
By Jamie LaReau
Gee Automotive Cos. will acquire 16 stores owned by the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships, creating one of the top U.S. dealership groups based on vehicle sales in 2015, the companies said late Tuesday.
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Dec 16, 2016 | The Dalles Chronicle
By RaeLynn Ricarte
any of the Ron Tonkin’s 21 dealerships have sold to a Spokane-based company, but not the automotive business in The Dalles, or several others.
#“Nothing is going to change locally,” said Steve Ross, general manager of the West Sixth Street business.
#“Tonkin sold some of its dealerships but not the Subaru and Chevrolet Buick GMC stores in the gorge.”
#He said Brad Tonkin, son of the late Ron Tonkin, who started the chain, is staying on with the new owner, Gee Automotive Companies, as “platform president.” And the dealerships that have sold will still retain the Tonkin name.
#“There will be no change in how we operate and our commitment to community and doing business as we have for 50 years,” said Ross about the situation.
#He said the gorge dealership and one in Reno, Nev., were not sold. The Tonkin family also retains ownership of their Ferrari and Gran Turismo dealerships.
#According to its website, Gee is a family-run company that operates dealerships in Spokane, Kirkland and Tacoma in Washington, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Gresham Subaru in Oregon.
#The sale comes nearly three years after Ron Tonkin died.
#In a statement to the Portland Business Journal, Tonkin co-president Edward Tonkin, Ron’s son, said “all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure.”
#The Tonkin chain reportedly got its start as a used car lot in southwest Portland and grew into an empire that, by 1986, was known as one of the largest “super-dealers” in the United States, with an estimated $100 million in sales.
#According to the Journal, Tonkin brought in $725 million in 2014 and employed nearly 1,000 workers as of July 2015.
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Hops stadium to keep 'Ron Tonkin' name despite sale
Dec 16, 2016 | Hillsboro Tribune
By Wade Evanson
In spite of the recent sale of the Ron Tonkin automotive dealerships, the Hillsboro Hops will continue to play their games at "Ron Tonkin Field," the team confirmed this week.
Last week, Ron Tonkin dealerships announced that it would be sold to Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies, but the Hillsboro Hops baseball team told The Tribune this week that the sale will have no effect on the current stadium naming arrangement.
Tonkin's sale creates one of the largest dealership groups on the West Coast. The company said that the Tonkin name will remain on all of its dealerships despite the sale, and its brand will continue to expand in the Portland area. Gee Automotive currently owns and operates Gresham Subaru.
The Tonkin family has been selling cars and trucks in Portland for over half a century. Ron Tonkin died in January 2014. That June his sons Ed and Brad Tonkin, signed a 10-year naming agreement with the city of Hillsboro, which owns the baseball field. The company pays $150,000 per year for the naming rights to the ballpark.
At the time, Tonkins' children reminisced and shared why the naming of the ballpark meant so much to them.
"My family's love of baseball was influenced by our dad," Ed Tonkin said during a 2014 ceremony to announce the agreement. "He loved baseball and often spoke of growing up watching baseball as a kid on Vaughan Street. The thought of losing the Portland Beavers and losing baseball in Portland in the early '80's troubled him so much he got a group together to buy the Beavers to keep baseball in our city. Naming this field in his honor is really a tribute to him and to all of the great times our family shared at the ballpark."
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Dec 16, 2016 | KXL News
PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Like Tonkin, Gee Automotive is a family business and it’s this connection that brought the two companies together. Tonkin has 21 dealerships in the Portland metro. The move will expand Gee’s footprint in the region. It currently owns Gresham Subaru.
In July 2015, Tonkin employed nearly 1,000 workers, and the company posted revenue in 2014 of $725 million, according to Business Journal research.
“Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue – and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” said Ed Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships in a written statement.
“Our top priority throughout this strategic business decision was to ensure Tonkin employee retention, well-being and opportunity. Our family is confident that Gee will be a good steward of our employees and corporate culture and we are excited to see the company grow under their leadership.”
Brad Tonkin, co-owner of Tonkin Dealerships, will remain with the new owner as platform president.
The Tonkin name will remain on the dealerships — and on Ron Tonkin Field, home to the Hillsboro Hops — and the new owners plan to continue to grow the brand, according to a release from the companies.
“A fundamental business objective with this acquisition is to continue to build on our culture of customer service and employee engagement,” the companies said. “We are looking forward to building and ensuring a bright future for the company.”
Gee was founded in 1983 and has dealerships in Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon.
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Ron Tonkin Car Dealerships Sold to Spokane Group Says Report
Dec 14, 2016 | Portland Patch
By Colin Miner
Ron Tonkin, one of the oldest and best-known car dealerships in the Portland area, has sold itself to Gee Automotive of Spokane, according to the Portland Business Journal. The paper reports that Tonkin dealerships will keep their name.
Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue – and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” Ed Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships told the paper.
The paper says that the family name will also remain on Ron Tonkin Field, home of the Hillsboro Hops.
The move helps Gee, which currently owns dealerships in Spokane, Kirkland, and Tacoma Washington but only Gresham Subaru in Oregon, expand in the region. Ron Tonkin, who started working at a used-car dealer in Southeast Portland owned by his parents, eventually grew the company to 21 dealerships in and around Portland.
Tonkin died in 2014. His sons Ed and Brad have been running the company.
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Tonkin Dealerships sold to Spokane auto group
Dec 14, 2016 | KGW-TV
By Malia Spencer
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Like Tonkin, Gee Automotive is a family business and it's this connection that brought the two companies together. Tonkin has 21 dealerships in the Portland metro. The move will expand Gee’s footprint in the region. It currently owns Gresham Subaru.
In July 2015, Tonkin employed nearly 1,000 workers, and the company posted revenue in 2014 of $725 million, according to Business Journal research.
“Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue – and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” said Ed Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships in a written statement.
“Our top priority throughout this strategic business decision was to ensure Tonkin employee retention, well-being and opportunity. Our family is confident that Gee will be a good steward of our employees and corporate culture and we are excited to see the company grow under their leadership.”
Brad Tonkin, co-owner of Tonkin Dealerships, will remain with the new owner as platform president.
The Tonkin name will remain on the dealerships — and on Ron Tonkin Field, home to the Hillsboro Hops — and the new owners plan to continue to grow the brand, according to a release from the companies.
“A fundamental business objective with this acquisition is to continue to build on our culture of customer service and employee engagement,” the companies said. “We are looking forward to building and ensuring a bright future for the company.”
Gee was founded in 1983 and has dealerships in Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon.
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Morning Roundup - Spokane company buys Ron Tonkin dealerships
Dec 14, 2016 | Oregon Business
By Katy Sword
Tonkin has 21 dealerships in the Portland metro region and employs nearly 1,000. Tonkin was purchased by Spokane's Gee Automotive for an undisclosed amount, the Portland Business Journal reports. Gee also owns Gresham Subaru.
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5 things to know today, and how the (reported) new Interior Secretary's Oregon teams fared
Dec 14, 2016 | Portland Business Journal
By Andy Giegerich
Two pieces of huge news yesterday.
One, from the PBJ's Malia Spencer: The venerable Tonkin family of dealerships has changed hands.
Spokane-based Gee Automotive is also a family business. It picked up Tonkin's 21 dealerships in the Portland metro area.
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Gee Automotive acquires Ron Tonkin Dealerships in Oregon
Dec 13, 2016 | The Spokesman Review
By Scott Maben
Gee Automotive Cos., the regional auto dealership group founded in Spokane, will become one of the largest dealership groups on the West Coast with the acquisition of Ron Tonkin Dealerships in Portland.
Gee announced the deal Tuesday, saying the two family-based businesses share core values. Terms of the acquisition were not released.
The deal expands Gee Automotive’s presence in the Portland market, where Gee owns and operates Gresham Subaru.
“Since its founding in 1983, the common theme in all of the Gee Automotive operations has been ‘families serving families’ – a value shared by the Tonkin family, which has been providing Portland families with cars for more than 50 years,” said CEO and Dealer Principal Ryan Gee.
Gee Automotive includes dealerships in Washington, Oregon and North Idaho. The company sells new Honda, Subaru, Buick, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac and Kia vehicles, as well as used cars and trucks.
Tonkin opened in 1960 with a Chevrolet store. Today the family has 21 new car brands and one exotic Italian motorcycle store, MotoCorsa.
All Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits will be secure under Gee’s ownership, said Ed Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships.
“Our top priority throughout this strategic business decision was to ensure Tonkin employee retention, well-being and opportunity,” Tonkin said. “Our family is confident that Gee will be a good steward of our employees and corporate culture and we are excited to see the company grow under their leadership.”
Brad Tonkin, co-owner of the dealership group, will remain with the company and serve as platform president.
The Tonkin name will remain on all of its dealerships, and its brand will continue to grow and expand in the Portland area, the companies said in a joint statement.
“A fundamental business objective with this acquisition is to continue to build on our culture of customer service and employee engagement,” they said. “We are looking forward to building and ensuring a bright future for the company.”
Gee Automotive Cos. include its flagship hub in Liberty Lake as well as dealerships in Coeur d’Alene, Kirkland, Washington, Tacoma and Gresham, Oregon.
George Gee founded his first auto dealership, selling Pontiacs, in Spokane in 1983. The company lost Hummer and Pontiac sales after General Motors shut down those makes, but Gee acquired Spokane Kia in 2011, becoming the exclusive Kia dealer for the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas.
Auto dealerships have been undergoing a series of major consolidations in recent years. Last year, a fast-growing Texas car dealership purchased Dave Smith Auto Group in Kellogg. The deal with RFJ Auto Partners Inc. allowed Smith, which operates two of the highest-volume stores in the nation, to expand the Dave Smith Motors line across the West, according to Ken Smith, president of the new group.
The Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Chevrolet-Cadillac-Buick-GMC stores in Kellogg sell close to 10,000 vehicles a year.
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Ron Tonkin dealerships sold to Spokane company
Dec 13, 2016 | The Oregonian
By Anna Marum
One of Portland's oldest and largest car dealerships has been sold.
Ron Tonkin, which operates 21 dealerships throughout the Portland area and in The Dalles, has sold to Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies, the Portland Business Journal reports.
Spokespeople for the companies could not be reached Tuesday evening.
According to its website, Gee is a family-run company that operates dealerships in Spokane, Kirkland and Tacoma in Washington, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Gresham Subaru in Oregon.
The Tonkin chain got its start as a used-car lot in Southeast Portland, and after working on his father's lot, Ron Tonkin helped grow the business into the empire it is today.
In 1986, Business Week named the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships as one of seven of the largest "super-dealers" in the United States, with an estimated $100 million in sales.
According to the Business Journal, the company brought in $725 million in 2014, and employed nearly 1,000 workers as of July 2015.
The sale comes nearly three years after Ron Tonkin died in January 2014.
In a statement, his son, Tonkin co-president Edward Tonkin, told the Business Journal that "all Tonkin employees' jobs, pay and benefits are secure."
Ron Tonkin's other son, co-owner Brad Tonkin, will stay on with the new owner as "platform president."
The new owners plan to grow the Tonkin brand, and the Tonkin name will remain on the dealerships and on the Hillsboro Hops' field, the Business Journal reported.
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Tonkin Dealerships sold to Spokane auto group
Dec 13, 2016 | Portland Business Journal
By Malia Spencer
Ron Tonkin Dealerships, the largest dealership group in Portland, has been acquired by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Like Tonkin, Gee Automotive is a family business and it's this connection that brought the two companies together. Tonkin has 21 dealerships in the Portland metro. The move will expand Gee’s footprint in the region. It currently owns Gresham Subaru.
In July 2015, Tonkin employed nearly 1,000 workers, and the company posted revenue in 2014 of $725 million, according to Business Journal research.
“Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue – and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” said Ed Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships in a written statement. “Our top priority throughout this strategic business decision was to ensure Tonkin employee retention, well-being and opportunity. Our family is confident that Gee will be a good steward of our employees and corporate culture and we are excited to see the company grow under their leadership.”
Brad Tonkin, co-owner of Tonkin Dealerships, will remain with the new owner as platform president.
The Tonkin name will remain on the dealerships — and on Ron Tonkin Field, home to the Hillsboro Hops — and the new owners plan to continue to grow the brand, according to a release from the companies.
“A fundamental business objective with this acquisition is to continue to build on our culture of customer service and employee engagement,” the companies said. “We are looking forward to building and ensuring a bright future for the company.”
Gee was founded in 1983 and has dealerships in Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon.
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Ron Tonkin sells to Spokane dealership
Dec 13, 2016 | The Portland Tribune
By Jim Redden
In the largest automotive deal in the Pacific Northwest, Portland-based Ron Tonkin Dealerships has been bought by Spokane-based Gee Automotive Companies.
Both companies are family-owned. The acquisition creates one of the largest dealership groups on the West Coast.
The Tonkin name will remain on all of its dealerships, and its brand will continue to expand in the Portland area. As part of the new relationship, Brad Tonkin, co-owner of Ron Tonkin Dealerships, will remain with the company and serve as Platform President.
"I am excited to help shape the future of the Tonkin brand under Gee's leadership," said Brad Tonkin. "Through a truly collaborative approach anchored by our core values, I anticipate a seamless transition and one that will yield tremendous growth for Tonkin."
Founder Ron Tonkin passed away in January 2014. Since then, the chain has continued to be run by his sons, Ed and Brad.
This acquisition expands Gee Automotive's presence in the Portland market, where the company currently owns and operates Gresham Subaru.
"Since its founding in 1983, the common theme in all of the Gee Automotive operations has been 'families serving families' — a value shared by the Tonkin family, which has been providing Portland families with cars for more than 50 years," said CEO and Dealer Principal Ryan Gee.
Details of the transaction, including the purchase price, were not released. Tonkin said his former company's employees will retain their jobs, pay and benefits.
"Our top priority throughout this strategic business decision was to ensure Tonkin employee retention, well-being and opportunity," Brad Tonkin said. "Our family is confident that Gee will be a good steward of our employees and corporate culture and we are excited to see the company grow under their leadership."
The Tonkin family has been selling cars and trucks in Portland for over half a century. Beginning in 1960 with one Chevy store, company has grown to now include 21 new car brands and one exotic Italian motorcycle store, Motocorsa.
The Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships has voted "One of the Best 100 companies in Oregon to Work For" as well as one of "The 100 Best Green Companies." It has been very active in community affairs, and signed a ten-year naming rights deal with Hillsboro in May 2014 at $150,000 per year, giving the ballpark its name of Ron Tonkin Field.
George Gee Automotive began in Spokane in 1983 as a single point Pontiac dealership. Today, the company is comprised of dealerships in Eastern and Western Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon, selling new Buick, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, and Kia products, as well as offering an extensive selection of used cars and trucks.
The company is now led by Ryan Gee, who serves as the company's CEO. He credits the company's success to unsurpassed customer service and giving back to the community.
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Gee Automotive buys 16 Ron Tonkin Dealerships
Dec 14, 2016 | Automotive News
By Jamie LaReau
Gee Automotive Cos. will acquire 16 stores owned by the Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships, creating one of the top U.S. dealership groups based on vehicle sales in 2015, the companies said late Tuesday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Ron Tonkin group’s annual revenue last year was $792 million.
In a statement, Gee Automotive CEO Ryan Gee said, “This acquisition unites two family-based businesses with common core values.”
It’s a case of a minnow swallowing a whale.
Gee Automotive, of Spokane, Wash., was founded in 1983. Gee has seven franchised dealerships in Washington, Oregon and Idaho selling new Honda, Subaru, Buick, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac and Kia vehicles.
Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships, of Portland, Ore., ranks No. 93 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealerships based in the U.S., with new-vehicle retail sales of 10,958 units in 2015. It owns 21 dealerships, mostly in the Portland area, selling 20 brands.
The Tonkin group is selling 16 of those dealerships. It is keeping Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo, which sells Ferrari and Maserati brands, two dealerships in the rural Portland area -- one selling Buick, GMC and Chevrolet and another selling Subaru -- and two dealerships in Reno, Nev., that sell Acura and Infiniti, said Ed Tonkin, co-president of the group.
After the acquisition closes, Gee Automotive Cos. will own 23 dealerships.
“Under Gee ownership, the trusted Tonkin brand, service and community commitment will continue and all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure,” said Ed Tonkin, 62, co-president of the Ron Tonkin group, in a statement.
Brad Tonkin, co-president of Ron Tonkin, will remain and be a platform president, the release said. The Tonkin name will remain on all of its dealerships, and the plan is to “grow and expand” in the Portland area, the press release said.
No. 2
The deal is the second-largest announced transaction this year in terms of revenue and total unit sales, said Erin Kerrigan, managing director of buy-sell advisory firm Kerrigan Advisors in Irvine, Calif.
The biggest transaction so far this year remains Holman Automotive Group Inc.’s purchase of Kuni Automotive in April. That group has projected annual revenue of about $3 billion and 33 dealerships in eight states, most along the East Coast and West Coast.
Before that transaction, Holman ranked No. 51 on the Automotive News list of the top 150 dealership groups, with retail sales of 18,604 new vehicles in 2015, while Kuni ranked No. 63, with retail sales of 15,163 new vehicles in 2015.
Ron Tonkin, founder of the Tonkin group, served as president of the National Automobile Dealers Association in 1989. His son, Ed Tonkin, was NADA chairman in 2010. NADA changed the title of the leadership position to chairman in 1998.
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