DOLPHINS' OWNER BUYS DEALERSHIPS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer H. Wayne Huizenga Harry Wayne Huizenga (born on December 29, 1937 in Evergreen Park, Illinois) is an American businessman who has built several companies into multi-billion dollar enterprises, mostly through an aggressive process of acquisitions. , owner of the Miami Dolphins football team, entered the lucrative Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, auto market on Friday by paying $20.9 million for two bankrupt dealerships in Valencia. Huizenga's Republic Industries Inc., which operates the AutoNation USA car and truck superstores, took control of Magic Ford and Magic Lincoln-Mercury after the deal closed. It is not certain what changes are in store for the auto retailing complex in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. . Republic officials could not be reached and an AutoNation spokeswoman in Valencia declined comment. Dick Basile, Ford's regional market representation manager, said he did not know what Republic plans to do with the two dealerships. But Republic bought a powerhouse operation. In 1995 Magic Ford was the second-largest retailer in Southern California behind Van Nuys-based Galpin Ford, owned by Bert Boeckmann. And Magic was the nation's fifth-largest Ford store. During 1995, the last year for which figures are available, Magic Ford sold 7,400 new cars and trucks. Together, the two dealerships sold about 12,600 new and used vehicles, Basile said. The dealerships' former owner, Norman J. Gray, put the businesses into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after getting into a financial dispute with Ford Motor Credit Corp., which provided the credit line - called flooring - that financed vehicle purchases by the dealership. Gray - a Chatsworth resident - still owns the land on which the dealerships are located but is being asked to sell it to Republic for $18.5 million, said James I James I, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona James I (James the Conqueror), 1208–76, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213–76), son and successor of Peter II. . Stang, a partner at Pachulski, Stang & Ziehl, the law firm representing the bankruptcy court bankruptcy court n. the specialized Federal court in which bankruptcy matters under the Federal Bankruptcy Act are conducted. There are several bankruptcy courts in each state, and each one's territory covers several counties. trustee. Stang said he hopes the sale of the land will close Friday. Proceeds will be used to pay off two tax bills - $1.55 million to the federal government and $112,000 to the state - and secured creditors One who holds some special monetary assurance of payment of a debt owed to him or her, such as a mortgage, collateral, or lien. . The deal also gives Gray a package valued at about $200,000 including a used late model Porsche and a 1995 Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a mid-size sport utility vehicle sold in North America and built by the Ford Motor Company since 1990. , Stang said. Unsecured creditors Unsecured Creditor An individual or institution that lends money without obtaining specified assets as collateral. This poses a higher risk to the creditor because they have nothing to fall back on should the borrower default on the loan. A debenture holder is an unsecured creditor. will be paid from the money left over after paying secured creditors plus money Ford Motor Co. owes Magic for work done under warranty, he said. The latter sum is estimated at about $500,000. ``We're trying to get all the parties together and say this sale is in our best interest,'' Stang said. Gray' attorney, Leonard Shulman of the law firm of Marshack & Goe, said Republic got a good deal and thinks that the Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale (lô`dərdāl), residential, commercial, and resort city (1990 pop. 149,377), seat of Broward co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. , Fla.-based company was willing to pay more. Republic was bidding against Grapevine Motors Inc., an entity formed by Ford to buy back the dealerships. The bidding was concluded after reaching an amount the automaker believed it was owed, Shulman points out. And he does not think that Gray's settlement is fair. ``It's a negotiated amount and provides a mechanism for the creditors of Magic the best chance to be paid in full,'' Shulman said. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion