MD Johnson Advises Greg Rasmussen on the Sale of Mercedes Benz of Portland, Mercedes Benz of Wilsonville, Rasmussen BMW and Rasmussen Mini of Portland, Oregon

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PORTLAND, OR--April 29, 2011: MD Johnson, Inc. announces the completion of the sale of the Don Rasmussen Group in Portland, Oregon on behalf of Greg Rasmussen to Lithia Automotive, Inc.  The group included Mercedes Benz of Portland, Mercedes Benz of Wilsonville, Rasmussen BMW and Mini of Portland.  All of the dealerships are located in and around the Portland metropolitan area.  Greg Rasmussen is the son of Don Rasmussen.  Don Rasmussen Co. started in 1950 as a Studebaker dealer and was appointed a BMW dealer in 1971. The elder Rasmussen passed away in 2006.  Greg Rasmussen was also partners with his brother Bud Rasmussen who also passed away in 2007.  Don Rasmussen was appointed as the first Mercedes Benz dealer established in the US.  Rasmussen was appointed in 1957 and held MB dealer franchise 1.

In 2000, the Rasmussen family extended their Mercedes Benz coverage into Wilsonville, Oregon and built a state of the art facility on Interstate 5.  The BMW franchise and Mini franchise were also added as well as the acquisition of a new Mini exclusive location, also acquired by Lithia in the transaction.  Lithia currently operates Mercedes Benz dealerships in Liberty Lake, WA and Des Moines, Iowa.

Mark Topping, who is the Northwest VP of MD Johnson, Inc., managed the transaction on behalf of Rasmussen and the firm.

MD Johnson, Inc. has worked in an advisory role to Rasmussen for a number of years and structured the transaction to suit Greg Rasmussen and his family's long term strategic financial goals. Mark Johnson, President of MD Johnson, Inc., stated that "Lithia provided Greg with an opportunity no other buyer could. Our choice to go with Lithia made the most sense for the Rasmussen family." Bryan DeBoer, President of Lithia, worked with MD Johnson, Inc. on structuring and executing the transaction. Don Rasmussen Co. still operates a Land Rover dealership in Portland, Oregon.

Lithia has renamed the dealerships BMW Portland and Mini of Portland. The two Mercedes Benz dealership names will remain the same. MD Johnson, Inc. had previously represented Lithia in the sale of the Chevrolet Dealership in Issaquah, Washington to David Broadus.

MD Johnson, Inc.  is an auto dealership buy sell advisory 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 more than 1.5 billion dollars in transactions.