Karl Malone
Jeff Teague is selling his El Dorado auto dealerships to a name almost as familiar: former NBA great Karl Malone.
Malone’s automotive group assumed management of the Chevrolet-Toyota and the Ford-Lincoln stores last Monday, Teague told Whispers. It could take two to three months for the manufacturers to approve the sale of the franchises, he said, after which the sale will be finalized.
“I’ve been in the car business 40 years, and it’s been a really good ride,” Teague said. The first decade of that was in Walnut Ridge before he bought into the El Dorado market in 1990. “It’s been a short 31 years, I’ll tell you that.”
He’s also chairman of Citizens Bank of Batesville, where he intends to shift more of his attention as president and CEO of its holding company, Citizens Bancshares Batesville.
The Karl Malone Group has a Toyota dealership an hour south of El Dorado at Ruston, Louisiana, as well as dealerships in Utah and other business interests. Teague said the Malone team, led by Andy Madsen, approached him with the proposed deal. With Malone’s resources, Teague predicts even better things — including a separate facility for the Toyota dealership that is now under the same roof as the Chevrolet dealership.
“My view of a customer-centric business and theirs are the same,” Teague said. “My motto is ‘people first,’ and I think the Malone Group will continue doing that.”
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