Lithia Motors Acquires Mercedes-Benz Dealerships in Mississippi, Tennessee

Lithia Motors, Inc. has acquired Mercedes-Benz of Jackson in Mississippi and Mercedes-Benz of Collierville in Tennessee, according to The Presidio Group, which advised sellers Trudy Higginbotham Moody, Wallis Higginbotham and their family.
Finalized on June 2, the transaction included the dealerships and their associated real estate.
“This purchase allows us to expand our presence in Mississippi and Tennessee, two strategic markets for our company,” said Bryan DeBoer, president and CEO of Lithia Motors. “This marks our fifth transaction facilitated by [Presidio] with the amount of revenue acquired through those deals topping $4 billion.”
The Mercedes-Benz stores had been part of a legacy automotive business established by Dennis Higginbotham, who entered the industry in 1976 and sold his first dealership group to Sonic Automotive in 1998. The family reentered dealership ownership in 2001 with the Jackson location and later added the Collierville store.
“After careful consideration, our family made the difficult decision to sell these stores,” said Trudy Higginbotham Moody, dealer principal of the Jackson location and recent TIME Dealer of the Year nominee for Mississippi. “We turned to our trusted friends at Presidio to help us achieve our goals and ensure a seamless transaction that honors our family’s automotive heritage and our father’s legacy.”
For Lithia, which already operates multiple stores in both Mississippi and Tennessee, the acquisitions support its continued growth in the Southeast and strengthen its position in the luxury segment.
“Despite the daily tariff headlines, well-capitalized dealers continue to seek strategic acquisitions to strengthen their market presence,” said George Karolis, president of The Presidio Group. “We were well suited to represent these dealerships to the market as our team has first-rate expertise in luxury automotive transactions, especially with Mercedes-Benz stores.”
The Higginbotham family was represented by Eric Gregory of Gregory Law, LLC. Lithia was represented by general counsel Edward Impert and legal director Aaron Weisman. Presidio provided exclusive M&A advisory services through its investment bank, Presidio Merchant Partners LLC.