Rush Enterprises announced that it signed an agreement to purchase certain assets of Lake City Companies and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates that operate commercial truck, bus and agricultural equipment sales, service, parts, finance and leasing business representing multiple brands, including International, Autocar, Mitsubishi Fuso, IC Bus and Collins Bus.
Rush Enterprises also announced it intends to group the management of its Rush Truck Centers into a Peterbilt division that will be responsible for the operations of Rush’s dealerships that sell and service products manufactured by Peterbilt Motors Co., and a Navistar division responsible for the operations of Rush’s dealerships that represent products manufactured by Navistar Inc., including International trucks and IC buses. The senior management team of each new division will report directly to W.M. “Rusty” Rush, president and chief executive officer of Rush Enterprises, but the two divisions otherwise will remain operationally independent from one another.
Lake City International currently operates five dealerships in Utah, five dealerships in Idaho and a dealership in Oregon. The proposed acquisition would expand the company’s contiguous network of Rush Truck Centers and would result in it operating 60 Rush Truck Center locations in 14 states.
Rush estimates that the purchase price will be about $76.5 million, comprised of about $44 million for assets and goodwill and $34.5 million for real estate, less a $2.0 million payment from affiliates of Lake City International for Rush assuming contingent liabilities of about $4.9 million. The completion of the acquisition is subject to several conditions, including the approval by International Truck and Engine Corp. and IC Bus, both divisions of Navistar Inc., Autocar LLC and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc.
“The acquisition of Lake City International and the reorganization of the management of our Rush Truck Centers represent an important milestone for our company,” Rush says. “The proposed acquisition will enable us to expand Rush’s geographic footprint further across the Western United States, providing significant entry into Utah and Idaho, and providing an opportunity to build the relationship we started with Navistar and its International brand when we acquired Rush International Truck Center – Charlotte in 2008. We look forward to adding Lake City International’s locations to the Rush Truck Centers network of dealerships and welcome the employees of Lake City International into the Rush Enterprises organization. Lake City is a very well-run and highly regarded dealer group within the International dealer network, and we believe it will provide an excellent foundation for our new Navistar division.”
Lake City Trucks also announced that new general manager Andy Spellman began his new role as general manager of the Idaho Falls location on March 15. Spellman comes from within Lake City Trucks, where he started as the body shop manager in Salt Lake City and later was promoted to body shop director. He has been with Lake City for six years.
