Larry Van Tuyl buys Honda dealership in Houston

The former CEO of the Van Tuyl Group, who in 2015 sold his dealership empire to Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has purchased a Honda store in Texas.

Larry Van Tuyl on Monday bought Team Gillman Honda West in Houston from Chris Gillman, said Bill Scrivner, CEO of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions in Frisco, Texas.

Scrivner told Automotive News that he represented Van Tuyl in the transaction. Gillman had purchased the store in December from Penske Automotive Group Inc., Scrivner said.

Terms of the Van Tuyl-Gillman transaction weren't disclosed. The store has been renamed Easy Honda.

In October 2014, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced that it agreed to acquire the Van Tuyl Group, the largest privately held dealership group in the country. The Van Tuyl Group was the fourth-largest U.S. dealership group as ranked by Automotive News based on retail sales of 139,538 new vehicles in 2014.

The deal closed in March 2015, as Berkshire acquired 81 dealerships and created Berkshire Hathaway Automotive.

Van Tuyl, 71, became chairman of the new company and confirmed to Automotive News this week that he left the post last year after a five-year term, agreed to by both parties.