South Carolina's Largest Powersports Dealership Gets New Ownership

Powersports Listings M&A rolls into 2020, showing that young entrepreneurs are in the market for Powersports / Motorcycle dealership acquisitions

PRESS RELEASE  UPDATED: FEB 24, 2020 04:00 CST

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., February 24, 2020 (Newswire.com) -​​​​​​​​Redline Powersports of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is now under new ownership.​ Jonathan Waters (Buyer and new owner) is a self-described entrepreneur and businessman to the core.  This is evidenced by his creation of his own motor vehicle fix and flip operation at 16 years of age.  His adult working experience includes Quality Control Management at Briggs and Stratton; Finance Management, Sales Management and General Management roles across retail dealership brands including Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, Suzuki, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Ram, and most recently Toyota. His entrepreneurial knack for fix and flip graduated into residential real estate outside of normal business hours. 

Jonathan purchased the 51,500 square foot flagship Honda, Yamaha, Polaris, BRP-Can-am-SeaDoo-Spyder, Kawasaki, and Suzuki dealership from industry veteran Larry Brooks. Larry still owns and operates Commonwealth Powersports, a Honda, Yamaha, Polaris-Slingshot, Kawasaki and Suzuki dealership in the Richmond, Virginia area.

After 33 years in the industry and operating two large dealerships 300 miles apart for more than a decade, Larry's professional schedule had him spending much of his time in Virginia and had expanded into additional business interests outside of powersports. This logistical challenge eventually compelled Larry Brooks to sell his Myrtle Beach operation. Industry references recommended that he hire Powersports Listings M&A (PLMA) to manage his sale and Larry followed that recommendation. 

PLMA worked diligently for nearly two years to find the right candidate for the purchase. Jerry Szopinski, PLMA's President of Sales, commented, "It often takes more time to find a buyer for the larger multi-line dealerships, and our portfolio of over 30 correlated dealership listings provides the necessary pipeline to make those deals happen."

Jonathan Waters nearly purchased two Atlanta-area dealerships through PLMA in early 2019. Even though that transaction did not come to fruition, Jonathan's positive experience with the PLMA team motivated him to stay in the pipeline for another powersports dealership opportunity. Once the introduction was made with Larry Brooks in late 2019, the buy-sell transaction was on a rock-solid path to closing with PLMA's guidance.

Jonathan Waters stated, "PLMA's expertise was incredible in providing the support I needed from the deal negotiation, legal and accounting references, OEM applications, business plans, and the list goes on."  

Larry Brooks commented at closing, "In working with PLMA for nearly two years, I fully appreciate their tenacity and the fact that they saw everything through to the final hour of closing. They even hosted a celebration dinner. Job well done."