Located just down the road from the Indian Motorcycle Factory & Experience Center, Okoboji Indian/Okoboji Motorsports in Spirit Lake, Iowa, has traded hands. Longtime dealer and community stalwart Ken Kemna sold the operation to Peter Burwell of C & B Powersports, LLC — one of the region’s largest John Deere family of dealerships. This transaction was exclusively facilitated by George C. Chaconas and Courtney Bernhard from the Powersports Division of Performance Brokerage Services.
“We are very excited about our new partnership with Polaris and Indian as we continue to bring brands with the highest levels of quality to our customers,” says Burwell, Chairman and CEO of C & B Operations. C & B Operations owns and operates 37 John Deere dealerships in Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota. The acquisition of Okoboji Indian was strategic for the company’s projected growth. “We believe that bringing John Deere Turf and Utility products to the Spirit Lake area demonstrates C & B’s commitment to that strategy!”
Okoboji Indian was established in 2017 by auto industry dealer Kemna, who has a well-known history in the automotive industry for establishing businesses in smaller and often overlooked communities. Kenna realized a great opportunity to open the powersports dealership in the hometown of Indian Motorcycles. “It was definitely a pleasure to work with such a professional and highly respected client as Ken Kemna in selling his one-of-a-kind Indian dealership in Spirit Lake,” says Chaconas. “I am happy that we were able to identify the perfectly qualified candidate to buy their dealership. The closing went very quickly, and I am very grateful to have been a part of another successful buy-sell.”
Following the sale, Courtney Bernhard of Performance Brokerage Services, added, “You never know where you will be when a call comes in about buying or selling a dealership. I am very pleased that I was able to connect with this group as I knew this opportunity would be a perfect fit.” Over the past five years, Performance Brokerage Services has advised on the sale of over 250 dealerships, making it the highest volume dealership brokerage firm in North America.
The state-of-the-art dealership will remain at its current location at 4105 Highway 71 in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Renamed C & B Powersports, the facility will represent a wide variety of brands moving forward, starting with John Deere, of course.
