ATLANTA, July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — MD Johnson, Inc. has completed the sale of Lexus of South Atlanta on behalf of H. Steve Harrell and Ronald Swatty to Sumitomo Corp.’s Automotive Division. Mr. Swatty and Mr. Harrell were appointed the Lexus Dealer in Union City by Toyota’s Lexus division in 2001 and have continuously operated the dealership at the current suburban South Atlanta location. Mr. Harrell is a former Chairman of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) and has an extensive automotive career. The suburban south Atlanta site also includes a large, state of the art collision center. Mr. Swatty is also a well known auto dealer and long time Nissan dealer.

Summit Auto Group, Sumitomo’s retail dealership group also acquired an adjoining 3 acre parcel which will become one of the largest Lexus pre owned centers in the US. Sumitomo owns dealerships in Washington State and California and has a worldwide automotive division which includes vehicle distribution as well as financial services. Mr. Harrell and Mr. Swatty continue to own and operate other dealerships in the Southeast.

The sale of the dealership was structured, managed and executed by Mark D. Johnson, President of MD Johnson, Inc., on behalf of the firm for Mr. Swatty and Mr. Harrell. Tom Palmer, acquisitions advisor to Summit commented that, “Mark and his staff at MD Johnson, Inc. spent more than a year structuring and executing what was a very complex transaction for Ron and Steve. Sumitomo recognizes that without their contribution of effort and integrity, no transaction would have occurred”. Mark Johnson further commented, “The people at Sumitomo were clearly one of the most professional groups of people I have ever worked with and provided my clients with a seamless exit strategy. They are definitely on the top of my list of preferred buyers to be introduced to the firm’s Sell Side clients”.

The dealership’s name will remain Lexus of South Atlanta. Mark Johnson can be contacted at 702 497 5480 for additional details.

MD Johnson, Inc. is an auto dealership buy sell financial advisory services firm specializing in the purchase, sale, analysis, succession and valuation of automobile dealerships, dealership platforms as well as dealership real estate through their wholly owned real estate entity, MDJ Realty Inc. The firm represents clients nationwide supporting their buy sell activities and has advised on nearly 2 Billion dollars in dealership related transactions. The firm has associates in the Northwest, South Florida and the Mid West.

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Mark Johnson

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SOURCE MD Johnson, Inc.