The high-volume dealership is adjacent to AHG’s multi-franchise Holden, HSV and Hyundai dealerships, indicating operational synergies between the outlets.

AHG managing director Bronte Howson has made no secret of Australia’s biggest automotive retailer’s love affair with the Mazda brand, this week enforcing comments made to GoAutoNews Premium at the AHG annual general meeting.

“Mazda is a high priority franchise for our Victorian automotive operations and there are very limited opportunities to acquire high-volume metropolitan Mazda franchises in any location,” he said.

“This opportunity is located adjacent to an existing AHG automotive hub and we expect to drive both revenue and cost synergies across the two locations.”

Mr Howson said that the transaction represented a valuable addition to AHG’s presence in Melbourne.

“The transaction is firmly in line with our ongoing automotive aggregation strategy and an excellent opportunity to secure a Mazda franchise in Victoria that can be integrated into an existing AHG retail hub.”

He added that the acquisition would add significant scale and profit to the company’s Victorian operations.

The price includes goodwill plus stock and assets at valuation. Settlement is expected to be in July after approval from Mazda Australia.

AHG also owns Mazda franchises in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Auckland and Perth. The Perth site is undergoing an extensive rebuild.

By Neil Dowling