Landers sets deal to merge car firms

Family will keep stake in venture

The Landers family will merge its auto dealerships in Little Rock with the Luther Auto Group of Minneapolis to form LL Ark Holding Co. LLC, which will own and operate Steve Landers Toyota and Steve Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, according to a news release from Scott Landers.

Steve Landers Sr. will continue to work in an advisory capacity for the Little Rock dealerships.

“He’ll still come to work every day,” Scott Landers said.

The new venture will look to buy other dealerships in Arkansas and surrounding states. The Landers family will own a major stake in it while liquidating a portion of its interest, the release states.

“The names of the Arkansas stores will remain the same. It is business as usual for our employees and customers,” Scott Landers said in the release.

The deal is expected to close within 45 days.

Steve Landers had said in an April 23 interview that he would sell his interest in the dealerships in Little Rock.

He said Monday that he and his two sons have sold a Toyota dealership in St. Louis to Dallas auto dealer Clay Cooley.

Scott Landers, 30, will be in “total operational control” of the remaining dealerships, his father said.

Steve Landers Jr., 38, declined comment on the deal but outlined his own business plans. He has a pawnshop at 11108 N. Rodney Parham Ave. and plans to to open several more.

His first pawnshop was initially named Rock City Lenders, but the name was changed last July to iPawn. He also has two car lots, Landers Auto Sales in Benton, which specialized hard-to-find and high-end vehicles, and iFinance on South University Avenue.

Steve Landers Sr., 60, also said Monday that he did not reach an agreement with Karl Malone, the former NBA player, and Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees’ third baseman who was suspended this year because of MLB’s determination that he had violated bans on the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Steve Landers Sr. said he met with the two men in Salt Lake City last week, but no plan to form a automotive group was reached.

He said he will look for other business deals for Rodriguez and Malone. Auto manufacturers have programs that are designed to promote dealership ownership by members of racial and ethnic minority groups. Rodriguez’ parents were natives of the Dominican Republic. Malone, a Louisiana native, is black.

Steve Landers Sr. sold his remaining interest in the RLJ McLarty-Landers Automotive group’s dealerships in the United States and Mexico late last year. It has 26 dealerships in eight U.S. states, according to its website.

His partners were Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty and Robert L. Johnson, who was majority owner with 60 percent, while McLarty and Landers each owned 20 percent. McLarty was chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. Johnson was the founder of Black Entertainment Television, which he sold to Viacom for a reported $3 billion in 2001.

Business, Pages 23 on 05/06/2014

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