Haig Partners Serves as the Exclusive Advisor on the Sale of Tom Dinsdale Automotive to the Rydell Company

Business Wire

09-07-2025

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Haig Partners LLC, the leading buy-sell advisory firm to auto and heavy truck dealers in the U.S., served as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Tom Dinsdale Automotive in the sale of its three dealerships to The Rydell Company. The dealerships included in this sale were Tom Dinsdale Chevrolet Cadillac GMC and Tom Dinsdale Hyundai in Grand Island, NE, and Tom Dinsdale Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram ('CDJR') in Hastings, NE.
Founded in 2003 by Tom Dinsdale and his wife Kim, Tom Dinsdale Automotive grew over time to become one of Central Nebraska's most recognizable groups. The group's GM dealership, Tom Dinsdale Chevrolet Cadillac GMC, is particularly well known for its facility, which is one of the largest GM facilities in the world at over 70,000 ft 2 and its Cadillac franchise. This is the only Cadillac franchise between Omaha and Denver.
Tom Dinsdale Automotive became a beloved local brand through its many charitable endeavors and community involvement. The Dinsdale family, along with the Tom Dinsdale Automotive dealerships, have been highly charitable and supportive of the Grand Island and Hastings communities. The group directly supported more than 80 charities and were highly involved with the Nebraska State Fair, Hastings College, Grand Island Central Catholic, Hastings St. Cecelia and Heartland United Way. The group's high level of charitable involvement created strong local relationships and directly supported the Central Nebraska community in which most of Tom Dinsdale Automotive's customers work and live.
The sale of Tom Dinsdale Automotive represents the Dinsdale family's exit from automotive retail but the family will remain active in the community and State of Nebraska with other business interests. Also, Tom will never be too far away from his beloved Cornhusker football.
Tom Dinsdale, shared, 'It was not an easy decision to sell. But it made sense at this point for myself and my family to retire. I will forever be proud of the group I built and want to thank my teammates for their many years of dutiful service. I am very grateful to our long-time advisors and CPAs, James Anderson, and Matt Peppmuller of Forvis Mazars, for their advice and introduction to John Davis and the team at Haig Partners. My wife Kim and I knew in our first meeting that they were the perfect fit for us. John Davis, and his teammate Erik Haig, went the distance – visiting with us in person, carefully listening to our goals, and crafting a compelling marketing package for our company that helped attract an excellent buyer in The Rydell Company. I know my former employees and neighbors in Grand Island and Hastings are in excellent hands.'
With this acquisition, the Dinsdale dealerships will join The Rydell Company, a highly respected and rapidly expanding automotive retail organization with a rich history in the Midwest. Founded in the 1940s by Leonard Rydell in Minnesota, the Rydell Company later expanded under his son, Wes. It now operates over 80 dealerships across 17 states. The organization operates under a common philosophy, but not under common ownership. They strive to provide opportunities for their partners to acquire ownership of the dealership operations.
John Davis, Managing Director at Haig Partners, shared, 'It was a pleasure to assist Tom and Kim Dinsdale in the sale of their dealerships to The Rydell Company. The satisfying part of our role in a transaction is helping our clients achieve their goal. Tom and Kim had carefully built their empire in Grand Island and Hastings over the course of two decades, and we knew it was going to be critical to find a buyer that was going to take great care of their employees and honor their legacy of community and charitable involvement. When The Rydell Company expressed interest, I knew we had a serious, fair and reliable buyer at the table. They have a very experienced team and that has made this transaction a very smooth process.
The automotive buy-sell market continues to heat up as we head deeper into 2025. After a slow start to the year, buyers and sellers are getting off the sidelines, thanks to alleviated concern around tariffs. And although dealership profits have fallen from their peak, valuations remain high and many dealers are choosing to sell to capitalize on still-high dealership values.'
Stephen Dietrich, Sarah Seeding and Anna Ayar from Holland & Knight provided legal counsel to the seller and James Anderson and Matt Peppmuller from Forvis Mazars provided closing assistance and accounting services to the seller.
Haig Partners has advised on the sale of 28 dealerships so far in 2025. To learn more about the sale of Tom Dinsdale Automotive Group, or learn more about dealership market trends and values, contact John Davis at [e-mail].
About Haig Partners
Haig Partners is a leading buy-sell advisory firm that helps owners of higher-value auto, truck, RV and motorsports dealerships maximize the value of their businesses when they are ready to sell. The team at Haig Partners has advised on the purchase or sale of more than 520 dealerships with a total value of over $10.5 billion. It has represented 30 dealership groups that qualify for the Top 150 Dealership Groups list published by Automotive News, more than any other firm. Clients of Haig Partners benefit from the group's collective experience as previous executives with leading companies such as Ally Financial, AutoNation, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, FORVIS, J.P. Morgan, the Sewell Automotive Companies and Toyota Financial Services. Leveraging its unmatched expertise and extensive relationships, Haig Partners guides clients to successful outcomes through a confidential and customized sales process. The firm authors The Haig Report ®, the leading industry quarterly report that tracks trends in auto retail and their impact on dealership values, and co-authors NADA's Guide, 'Buying and Selling a Dealership.' Haig Partners team members are frequent speakers at industry conferences and are regularly quoted in reputable media outlets, including Reuters, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, BBC, Automotive News, Wards, CarDealershipGuy and CBT News. For more information, visit www.haigpartners.com.