A group of a dozen Washington, D.C.-area dealerships traded hands in one of the largest buy-sell transactions the region has seen in years.

Southern Maryland Automotive Group sold the stores for nearly $500 million to Brandon Steven of Brandon Steven Motors after the dealer principal decided to retire, said Dallas-based sell-side broker CBRE Group.

The dealerships represent Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, Ford and Lincoln, GMC, Honda and Toyota, including several Ford stores, and make up one of the biggest auto retail presences in southern Maryland, CBRE said.

The buyer plans to retain all of the dealerships’ existing names.

“Its concentration of key brands and geographic coverage created a rare opportunity for a buyer seeking immediate scale within the Baltimore-Washington, D.C.-Richmond corridor,” said firm Executive Vice President James Mitchell.

Before the deal, Brandon Steven Motors owned 21 dealerships in California and Kansas, and now has more than 30 from coast to coast and a projected $2.5 million-plus in annual revenue, CBRE said. That would make it one of the largest privately held U.S. auto groups.

“This was not a transaction we were actively pursuing,” Brandon Steven said. “But opportunities of this caliber are rare. The scale, brand mix, and market position made it clear this was a transformational move for our company.”

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