The dealership buy-sell market hit a record 458 transactions in 2025. Behind many of those deals are the industry's leading M&A advisory firms. Using transaction data tracked by The Buy-Sell Report, here's a look at which brokers are handling the most volume — and what that activity looks like by state and brand.
458
Dealership transactions in 2025 — a new annual record
289
Buy/sell events with broker attribution in BSR's database
81
Stores brokered by Kerrigan Advisors — #1 in BSR's data
Broker Rankings by Deal Volume
The table below ranks the most active dealership brokers by total store count in BSR's transaction database, alongside their trailing 12-month activity. BSR counts each franchise brand at a location as one store — a single deal covering a rooftop with three brands counts as three stores.
| # |
Broker |
Stores (all-time) |
Stores (last 12 mo.) |
| 1 |
Kerrigan Advisors |
81 |
36 |
| 2 |
Haig Partners |
47 |
14 |
| 3 |
Performance Brokerage Services |
41 |
29 |
| 4 |
The Presidio Group |
30 |
27 |
| 5 |
Tim Lamb Group |
20 |
10 |
| 6 |
Dave Cantin Group |
19 |
13 |
| 7 |
Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions |
14 |
14 |
| 8 |
National Business Brokers |
12 |
6 |
| 9 |
DSMA |
10 |
6 |
Rankings reflect transactions attributed to each broker in The Buy-Sell Report's database. Not all transactions are brokered — 216 of 505 tracked buy/sell events (43%) show no broker attribution. Not all brokered deals are publicly attributed. These rankings represent a partial view based on available data.
Broker Profiles
Kerrigan Advisors
81 stores tracked · 36 in trailing 12 months · Sell-side only
The most active dealership M&A advisor in BSR's data by a significant margin. Kerrigan handles sell-side representation exclusively and publishes the Blue Sky Report, the industry's most-cited quarterly on dealership valuations and transaction trends. Based in Incline Village, NV. Notable transactions include Jim Koons (est. $1.2B) to Asbury Automotive and Leith Automotive to Holman Enterprises. Most active states in BSR data: Louisiana (12 stores), Colorado (8), Maryland (7), South Carolina (7). Top brands: Kia (10), Toyota (10), Lexus (7).
Haig Partners
47 stores tracked · 14 in trailing 12 months · Sell-side advisory
Sell-side only. Publishes the Haig Report, a quarterly on dealership buy-sell trends and blue sky valuations. Based in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Most active in Virginia (10 stores), California (6), Illinois (5), Texas (5), and Florida (5). Top brands in BSR data: Toyota (7 stores), Subaru (5). Frequently involved in mid-size to large multi-rooftop transactions.
Performance Brokerage Services
41 stores tracked · 29 in trailing 12 months · Buy-side and sell-side
National reach with the broadest geographic footprint of any broker in BSR's data — active across 18 states. Headquartered in Irvine, CA. Handles everything from single-store transactions to large multi-franchise packages. Most active states: Ohio (6), Iowa (4), Alabama (4), Minnesota (4). Top brands: Chevrolet (8 stores), Ford (6). Known for handling complex multi-brand transactions and rural market dealerships that larger brokers often pass on.
The Presidio Group
30 stores tracked · 27 in trailing 12 months · Investment banking
Investment banking firm focused on auto retail M&A. Based in San Francisco. The Presidio Group stands out for its concentration in luxury and import brands — Mercedes-Benz (6 stores), Audi (4), Land Rover (4), BMW (2), Porsche (1). Most active states: California (8), Missouri (7), Illinois (2). Their trailing 12-month activity (27 stores) nearly matches their all-time total (30), indicating sharply accelerating volume.
Tim Lamb Group
20 stores tracked · 10 in trailing 12 months · Midwest specialist
Midwest-focused dealership broker with the heaviest concentration in Ohio (8 stores). Also active in Illinois (2), Missouri (2), and Pennsylvania (2). Specializes in Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram franchises — the most represented brand group in BSR's Tim Lamb data with 8 stores. Also handles Ford, Honda, Chevrolet, Toyota, and BMW transactions.
Dave Cantin Group
19 stores tracked · 13 in trailing 12 months · Full-service M&A
Full-service M&A advisory firm handling auto retail, powersports, and heavy truck. Most active in California (5 stores) and Florida (4), with additional activity in Oregon, New York, and Ohio. Brand mix is diverse — Chevrolet (3), Ford (3), and Subaru (3) lead their tracked transactions, with luxury representation including Lamborghini and Audi.
Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions
14 stores tracked · 14 in trailing 12 months · Buy-side and sell-side
All 14 of Pinnacle's tracked stores are from the trailing 12 months, suggesting they're a newer entrant to BSR's data or have accelerated activity recently. Active in California (4), Oregon (2), Kansas (2), and Texas (2). Brand mix includes Ford (3), Chevrolet (2), Toyota (2), and Hyundai (2).
National Business Brokers
12 stores tracked · 6 in trailing 12 months · Exotic specialist
Notable for specializing in ultra-luxury and exotic franchise transactions. BSR data shows Ferrari (2), Maserati (2), Pagani (2), Lamborghini (2), and Bentley (1) among their tracked brands — a concentration in exotics that no other broker in the database matches. Active in California (6), Texas (5), and Tennessee (1).
DSMA
10 stores tracked · 6 in trailing 12 months · US and Canada
Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions handles both US and Canadian transactions. BSR tracks US activity only. Most concentrated in Georgia (6 stores), with additional presence in California (2), New York (1), and Texas (1). Ford is the top brand (5 stores), with Acura, Chevrolet, Honda, Nissan, and Volvo represented.
How Broker Activity Reflects Market Trends
The record 2025 transaction volume isn't uniformly distributed. Large public dealer groups — Asbury Automotive, Group 1, Lithia, and Penske — have increasingly used brokers for tuck-in acquisitions, particularly in markets where they're already established. This has benefited the major sell-side firms (Kerrigan, Haig) who represent the sellers in those deals.
Regional consolidation is the dominant pattern. 65% of 2025 buyers were expanding within their existing geographic footprint, not entering new markets. Brokers with regional specialization — Tim Lamb in the Midwest, Performance Brokerage across rural and secondary markets — are positioned well for this type of activity.
The Presidio Group's accelerating luxury-market volume reflects the broader surge in ultra-luxury transactions. 15 to 20 stores selling exotic brands were expected to change hands in 2025, up from 6 in 2024.
Why Vendors Should Pay Attention to Broker Activity
When a broker announces a completed deal, the ownership change is imminent or already effective. Broker press releases are often the first public signal that a transaction happened — and they come before most vendors find out through their own networks.
Knowing which brokers are active in your target states tells you where ownership changes are likely to cluster. A region where Kerrigan or Haig is closing deals is a region where large groups are consolidating — which means vendor decisions are being made at the group level, not the store level.
The Buy-Sell Report attributes broker information on every transaction where it's available. Subscribers can filter the dashboard by broker to see which of their customers' stores have gone through brokered transactions — and which deals may be coming from active brokers in their target markets.