Blue Sky and Beyond: Decoding Dealership Valuations, Consolidation and Strategic M&A in 2026

Business attorney Stephen Dietrich will deliver a presentation on auto dealership buy/sell trends to open the final day of the 2026 AICPA Dealership Conference. The two-day event offers financial professionals with performance solutions to accounting challenges across all areas of the dealership market. During his talk, Stephen, who co-leads the firm's Automotive Retail and Dealerships Practice, will examine the forces that have shaped dealership transactions in 2026, emphasizing that past is no longer prologue – changes in expectations for due diligence timelines, standard indemnification terms, post-transaction escrows, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) right of first refusal, outside capital investment and more all mean conventional processes and historical valuation assumptions no longer work in today's market. With these shifts in mind, Stephen will explore the rise of mega deals and public consolidations, valuation variations across franchises and regional markets, and blue sky multiples. The session will offer an informative overview of where the buy/sell market stands, how deals are coming together and what success actually looks like.