AutoNation says it will buy 16 dealerships with $600M in revenue, mostly in the Southeast

AutoNation said Tuesday it will buy 16 dealerships in the Southeast and the Baltimore area, and said the new locations will add about $600 million to its annual revenue.

The largest U.S. auto retailer did not disclose terms of the acquisition. It said 13 of the dealerships are in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Those dealerships include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Lincoln and Volkswagen franchises. The remaining three locations are in the Baltimore market and include Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru and Volkswagen franchises.

The company says the deals will give it 34 more franchises for a total of 327. Most of its locations are in major metro areas in the Sun Belt region.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company expects the purchases to close later in 2015, and it says it will continue to look for acquisition opportunities. AutoNation had $19.11 billion in revenue in 2014.

Shares of AutoNation Inc. rose $1.60, or 2.6 percent, to $62.51 in midday trading.