Dealership M&A intelligence, written for principals.
Valuation drivers, buyer psychology, deal structure, and cross-border mechanics — distilled from live mandates. Plain-spoken, numerate, free to read.
Six research tracks.
From the research desk.
Dealership Succession Planning — Every Path
Five paths to retirement. Most dealer principals only know two.
Sell to an outsider. Transfer to family. Hand it to the management team. Sell into an ESOP. Carve out the real estate. Each route has its own tax shape, OEM approval pattern, and timeline. The OEM franchise-approval mechanics section is the angle no competitor owns.
Read the cornerstone guide →8 EBITDA add-backs most dealer CPAs miss.
A misclassified add-back costs four to six times its face. The eight categories Coussa Group sees missed most often, with examples and buyer-side pushback patterns.
Read article →Cross-border dealership M&A, run as one process.
Pillar page + 4 sub-pages on the tax, regulatory, and OEM mechanics that determine whether a Canada-US dealership deal closes cleanly or quietly loses money at signing.
Explore the framework →Estimate your dealership’s blue-sky range in 60 seconds.
Six inputs, 2026 multiple table, instant output. No email required. The first interactive valuation tool in automotive dealership M&A — built to frame a conversation, not replace one.
Open the calculator →What we’re watching in H2 2026.
The North American dealership M&A outlook: where capital is flowing, the three forces shaping H2 2026, what it means for principals weighing a transaction in the next 12–24 months.
Read the outlook →Preparing your dealership for sale.
A structured guide to financial documentation, operational improvements, and timing strategies that maximize transaction value at close.
Read article →How to sell a car dealership confidentially.
NDA protocols, anonymous teasers, and how sector-specialist advisors protect your business and your community standing through the transaction.
Read article →How automotive dealerships are valued.
The framework guide: EBITDA normalization, blue-sky multiples by OEM tier, real-estate handling, and the operational metrics that move dealership M&A pricing.
Read the framework →Understanding dealership blue sky value.
What dealership blue sky value actually is, how franchise rights and goodwill drive it, and how multiples move across OEM tiers in 2026.
Read article →2026 North American Dealership Valuation Report.
Multiples by brand · buyer composition · OEM consolidation posture · Canada vs US divergence.
The 2026 Outlook, free to principals.
Brand-level multiples, buyer composition trends, OEM consolidation posture, and the Canada-vs-US divergence we’re seeing in live mandates.
- Blue Sky multiples by franchise, single-point and group.
- Buyer composition: dealer groups vs PE vs family offices.
- OEM consolidation posture, five-year directional read.
- Cross-border mechanics: FIRPTA, ICA, currency & structure.
Have a question the research didn’t answer?
Principals and advisors can request a confidential conversation with the research desk. NDA-bound, no sales pressure.