Longtime Fort Worth auto dealership group Frank Kent Motor Co. is being acquired by high-end auto dealership Autobahn.
Will Churchill, grandson of founder Frank D. Kent and co-owner of the dealerships with his sister, Corrie, said the deal is contingent on car manufacturer approval, which should come in about 90 days.
The deal was first announced by Fort Worth Inc.
The Frank Kent Motor Co. consists of Frank Kent Cadillac Fort Worth and Frank Kent Cadillac Arlington.
Churchill said he didn’t believe a two dealership company offered much opportunity for growth, so he set out to acquire more dealerships to create the talent pool and provide current employees with an opportunity for growth.
“We had a conversation with Autobahn and realized that their culture is perfect,” he said. “They’re a forward-thinking company and they’re growing. They’ve brought in the right management team and they understood the same vision I had.”
Churchill said the deal, if approved, will give Frank Kent employees a way to grow their careers and provide more opportunities.
The deal calls for the dealership to retain the Frank Kent name, which is important, he said.
“They saw the value of that,” said Churchill. “We’ll be planning for our 90th anniversary and also for our 100th. I don’t think if we’d stayed a two-dealership shop we could have made it to 100.”
Autobahn Fort Worth is planning its own big move soon. The 45-year-old high-end dealership owned by Robert Bass, currently located at 3000 White Settlement Road, is planning to break ground on a 75-acre location at Oakmont Boulevard in southwest Fort Worth near Chisholm Trail Parkway.
Autobahn, which traces its origins to 1979, sells and services brands such as BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Porsche, Land Rover and Mini.
Frank D. Kent founded Frank Kent Motor Co. in 1935 and became a highly successful Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealer. In 1953, he opened a Cadillac dealership that became one of the luxury car manufacturer’s largest-volume retail operations in the country.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: Autobahn has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report.
News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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