Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (Penske Automotive) has signed an agreement to acquire the Commercial Vehicles Group from Transpacific Industries Group Ltd. (Transpacific Industries) for a purchase price of $219 million. The completion of the transaction is subject to normal closing conditions and is expected to occur by the end of the third quarter 2013.

The Commercial Vehicle Group is the exclusive importer and distributor of Western Star trucks, MAN trucks, MAN buses and Dennis Eagle trucks for Australia and New Zealand.  The Commercial Vehicles Group has a network of 65 dealers across Australia and 16 dealers across New Zealand, and provides full authorised parts, service and warranty functions for the three brands. The group also has dealer representation in Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Indonesia.

Penske Automotive, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, currently operates 332 retail automotive franchises, representing 39 different brands and 30 collision repair centers. It sells new and previously owned vehicles, finance and insurance products and replacement parts, and offers maintenance and repair services on all brands it represents. In 2012, Penske Automotive retailed and wholesaled more than 402,000 vehicles, with 64% of total revenues generated in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and 36% generated outside the U.S. Premium brands, such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche represented 70% of retail revenue in 2012.

Penske Automotive is the second largest automotive retailer headquartered in the United States, as measured by the $13.2 billion USD in total revenue generated in 2012.  Penske Automotive is a member of the Fortune 500 and Russell 2000 and has approximately 16,700 employees.

Penske Automotive has a wide and varied experience with commercial vehicles through its ownership interest in Penske Truck Leasing, a leading provider of transportation services and supply chain management. Penske Truck Leasing operates and maintains more than 200,000 vehicles and services customers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia and is one of the largest purchasers of commercial trucks in North America. Product lines include full-service truck leasing, truck rental and contract maintenance, logistics services such as dedicated contract carriage, distribution center management, transportation management and acting as lead logistics provider.

Penske Automotive generally seek to acquire businesses with high-growth automotive brands in highly concentrated or growing demographic areas that will benefit from the groups management expertise, manufacturer relations and scale of operations. Penske Automotive Group offers outstanding brands in premium facilities and believe offering customers a superior customer service experience will generate repeat and referral business and will help to foster a loyal and dedicated customer base. The acquisition of CVG provides Penske Automotive with its first business venture into Australia.

Roger S. Penske, Chairman of Penske Automotive Group states, “Our business success is driven by our core values – the importance of human capital, maintaining OEM relationships, our commitment to a premium brand mix, diversification, capital investment and fostering repeat and referral business through a commitment to customer satisfaction and exceeding expectations.” He adds, “The acquisition of the Commercial Vehicles Group of Transpacific fits with this model, and we are excited to enter the Australian market.”

Paul Glavac, Managing Director of Transpacific Commercial Vehicle Group states, “We are very eager to move forward as part of Penske Automotive Group – we now have a total company focus on commercial vehicles, and access to additional professional business practices and automotive experience which will provide for enhanced customer service and a broader platform for growth for us and our dealers. We are excited about our prospects and look forward to continue to work with our existing dealers and customers.” He adds, “Our relationship with Transpacific will remain strong, and we will continue to provide quality products and customer service to this industry leading company.”