NEWS RELEASE950 Echo Lane, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77024
AT GROUP 1: | President and CEO | Earl J. Hesterberg | (713) 647-5700 | |||
| Senior Vice President and CFO | John C. Rickel | (713) 647-5700 | ||||
| Manager, Investor Relations | Kim Paper Canning | (713) 647-5700 | ||||
AT Fleishman-Hillard: | Investors | John O. Ambler | (713) 513-9513 | |||
AT Pierpont Communications: | Media | Clint L. Woods | (713) 627-2223 | |||
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2007
GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE ANNOUNCES $30 MILLION SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM
HOUSTON, April 26, 2007 — Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI),a Fortune 500 automotive retailer, today announced that its board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $30 million of the company’s common stock. Purchases may be made from time to time, based on market conditions, legal requirements and other corporate considerations, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
The company expects that any repurchase of shares will be funded by cash from operations and anticipates completing the repurchase program within the next 12 months. Currently, the company has approximately 24.1 million shares of common stock outstanding. Repurchased shares will be held in treasury.
“We continue to look for ways to reward our shareholders and, at present valuations, we believe returning capital via a share repurchase program is an attractive alternative for delivering shareholder value,” said Earl J. Hesterberg, Group 1’s president and chief executive officer.
About Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
Group 1 owns and operates 102 automotive dealerships, 140 franchises and 28 collision service centers in the United States and three dealerships, six franchises and two collision centers in the United Kingdom that offer 32 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related financing, vehicle service and insurance contracts; provides maintenance and repair services; and sells replacement parts.
Group 1 Automotive can be reached on the Internet at www.group1auto.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” which are statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding our goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations, market position, pending and potential future acquisitions and business strategy, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks” or “will.” Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a) general economic and business conditions, (b) the level of manufacturer incentives, (c) the future regulatory environment, (d) our ability to obtain an inventory of desirable new and used vehicles, (e) our relationship with our automobile manufacturers and the willingness of manufacturers to approve future acquisitions, (f) our cost of financing and the availability of credit for consumers, (g) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, (h) foreign exchange controls and currency fluctuations, and (i) our ability to retain key personnel. These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described in ourForm 10-K under the headings “Business—Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We urge you to carefully consider this information. We undertake no duty to update our forward-looking statements, including our earnings outlook.
