Celani buys into Dick Scott dealerships; duo plan growth

We are excited to announce that casino investor, vineyard owner and motorcycle dealer Tom Celani is broadening his base of businesses to include cars.

The West Bloomfield Township entrepreneur has acquired a 50 percent stake in the Dick Scott Chrysler dealerships in Plymouth and Fowlerville. The new entity, co-owned by Celani and Dick Scott, plans to go into growth mode, expecting to buy one dealership a year.

The new business entity, Luna Dick Scott LLC, will own Dick Scott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Plymouth and Dick Scott Motor Mall in Fowlerville. The deal is to close this week. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The group also hired a CFO, Jim Eagan, a consultant in the automotive dealership practice at Southfield-based Plante & Moran PLLC.

Scott said the dealership is on pace to sell 1,100 cars in Plymouth this year and 700 in Fowlerville. The dealerships have combined projected revenue of $100 million.

Celani owns Farmington Hills-based MotorCity Harley-Davidson and Bloomfield Hills-based MotorCity Power Sports. Through Novi-based Luna Entertainment, he owns casinos in Colorado and Oklahoma. He also owns TC Vineyards Inc., a Napa Valley vineyard and winemaker.

It's that roster of businesses that Scott said makes him look forward to Celani's marketing ideas.

"Tom's got his hands in a lot of businesses; he's a true entrepreneur," Scott said.

The dealership was founded by Scott in 1974. Over the years he's included members of his family as well. His daughter, Nicole Gallagher, and his sons, Judson and Jason, work with the dealerships.

As Scott and Celani look for new investments, they're going to be in a market that has gone from a buyer's market to a seller's market, said Daniell Patterson, a principal specializing in car dealership consulting in the Southfield office of UHY Advisors Inc.

"The dust has settled; the dealers who survived are returning to profitability," he said. "And the major players are looking to get out there and make investments."

Daniel Duggan: (313) 446-0414, dduggan@crain.com. Twitter: @d_duggan

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