Republic Inks Webb Pact, Gears Up for Buying Binge

IRVINE — Republic Industries Inc. said Monday that it intends to triple its presence in Southern California in coming months with a dealership buying binge.

The company said it signed an agreement Monday to acquire Irvine-based Webb Automotive Group, one of the nation’s highest-grossing new-car chains with eight dealerships and a reported $450 million in annual sales. With the Webb pact, which had been reported previously, Republic’s AutoNation automotive subsidiary owns or has agreements to acquire four new-car chains in Los Angeles and Orange counties, with a total of 30 dealerships and gross annual sales of just less than $1 billion.

Michael Maroone, president of Republic’s auto group, said the company paid more than $100 million for the Webb Group.

Also on Monday, AutoNation officially opened in Irvine the first of six used-car superstores it plans for Southern California over the next year. “Our goal is to get to $3 billion a year in sales” in Southern California, Maroone said.