After a complaint by Gayle Benson with the state of Louisiana was withdrawn, the breakup of the Ray Brandt Auto Group is complete.
The deals closes a four year legal battle between Ray Brandt’s widow Jessica and his grandchildren over an estimated $280 million, an intervention that changed the original buyers of the dealerships in Mississippi and Louisiana and the Benson Automotive Group alleging a conspiracy by an automaker and regional rival.
In the end, Brandt Auto Group was broken up and sold to a number of regional car dealers.
Brandt Breakup
Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, winds up with Mercedes-Benz of South Mississippi, Porsche New Orleans, Volkswagen of Mississippi, Infiniti of South Mississippi and three premier collision centers across Mississippi and Louisiana.
Premier Automotive Group, the company owned by Troy Duhon that spans across eight states with 40 locations, acquired Nissan, Hyundai-Genesis, Volkswagen and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealerships in Harvey.
The Brandt’s Toyota dealership in Kenner is now owned by Damian Mills’ Mills Auto Group and Matt Bowers acquired Brandt’s Nissan outlet in south Mississippi, as well as an Infiniti store in Metairie.
Alleged Conspiracy
The Bowers deal was the point of contention for Benson in her complaint with the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission. As detailed by the Benson Automotive Group in a letter to the commission, it alleged executives from Nissan and Bowers illegally blocked the deal to buy the two dealerships and instead arranged for Bowers to buy them by using the automakers right of first refusal for the sale of a dealership.
The Brandt estate originally sold all the dealerships to Benson and Duhon. But five automakers exercised their right to choose different buyers that resulted in the final deal.
That included Toyota, which replaced Benson with Mills, owner of the largest Black-owned car dealership network in the country, as its preferred buyer for the Kenner dealership. Kia in Harvey, slated to go to Mills instead of Duhon, was eventually assigned to Tameron Automotive Group of Daphne, AL.
General Motors opted to sell the south Mississippi Brandt Chevrolet dealership to Bob Boyt, a local dealer there, instead of Duhon.
Benson Statement
The Louisiana State Motor Vehicle Commission had set April 11 for an initial hearing for the Nissan case. But Benson, whose late husband Tom built his fortune through auto dealerships, withdrew the complaint last week, enabling the deal to be finalized.
“I am grateful to have this opportunity to welcome Mercedes-Benz of South Mississippi, Porsche New Orleans, Volkswagen of Mississippi, Infiniti of South Mississippi and our valued collision centers into our family of automotive enterprises,” Benson said in a press release. “These acquisitions align with our vision of delivering exceptional products and services while making a positive impact on the communities we serve.
“We look forward to building upon the strong foundations established by Ray Brandt and further elevate these businesses to new heights of success.”
