Brian E. Kendrick Joins Asbury Automotive Group as President and Chief Executive Officer

Business Wire, Nov 5, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 5, 1999--

Asbury Automotive Group, one of the three largest retail automotive groups, announced today that Brian E. Kendrick has joined the Conshohocken, PA-based automotive dealership company as President and Chief Executive Officer. Asbury has approximately 100 dealerships across the United States.

Prior to joining Asbury Automotive, Mr. Kendrick, 46, was President and Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-based DFS Group Limited, a leading distributor of luxury goods majority owned by LVMH Mokt Hennessy Louis Vuitton. He was previously Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Saks Holdings, Inc., the holding company of the Saks Fifth Avenue luxury retail chain. During his eight years at Saks, Mr. Kendrick helped guide the company through private ownership, and he was integral to the company's very successful initial public offering in 1996 and subsequent merger with Proffitt's Department Stores (subsequently renamed Saks, Inc.) in 1998.

"We are very pleased to welcome Brian Kendrick to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, as he brings exceptional public company and retailing experience to our organization," said Thomas Gibson, Chairman and Co-Founder of Asbury Automotive. "Brian's management experience with dynamic, high growth retail organizations will bring even greater depth to our management team. Brian is a vibrant individual and Asbury is a rapidly growing Company. We're confident that bringing the two together will result in new and remarkable achievements for Asbury in the years ahead."

Mr. Kendrick said, "I am excited to join Asbury Automotive. With a dealership base of extraordinary quality, Asbury is one of the leading operators of automobile dealerships in the United States and is at the forefront of innovation in automobile retailing. With the synergies and cost savings derived from size, combined with the new possibilities presented by technology and the sharing of best practices, Asbury has introduced a compelling, customer-centric retailing strategy and is poised to bring substantial positive change to the way in which Americans buy automobiles. I look forward to working with my colleagues at Asbury as we continue to bring this change into reality."

Asbury was founded in 1995 by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. and Thomas Gibson to acquire and invest in automobile dealerships. In 1996, Freeman Spogli & Co. Incorporated joined Ripplewood as a leading shareholder in the Company. Headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Asbury Automotive is the 39th -largest privately-held company in the U.S. based on revenues and is one of the three largest automobile dealers in the United States. Asbury's five thousand employees serve their customers through eight platform dealership groups: The Coggin Group in Florida; The Crown Auto Group in North Carolina and Virginia; The Courtesy Group in Florida; The McDavid Group in Texas; The McLarty Group in Arkansas; The Nalley Group in Georgia; Plaza Motors in Missouri; and Thomason Auto in Oregon.

Freeman Spogli & Co. Incorporated, founded in 1983, is a private investment firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York dedicated to investing together with management in growing companies. Freeman Spogli, with $915 million of committed capital, invests primarily in consumer-related companies operating in retailing, direct marketing, and service businesses.

Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C, founded in 1995, is a New York-based private equity firm with $430 million of committed capital. Ripplewood pursues an "Industrial Partnership" approach to private equity investing. Through this approach, Ripplewood works closely with exceptional senior operating executives, called Industrial Partners, in the identification, acquisition, and subsequent enhancement of businesses in attractive industries.