Custom-made aquariums are emerging as pricey fixtures in luxury homes. Prices can range from roughly $5,000 for a 10-gallon tank to $1 million and up for a tank that hold 5,000 gallons of water.
Fort Lauderdale-based manufacturer Living Color Aquariums, for example, specializes in saltwater tanks and will install a 1,600-gallon one for approximately $150,000.
Featured on the National Geographic cable television channel feature on a show called “Fish Tank Kings,” Living Color this year has started installing vent-less fireplaces beneath home aquariums for customers who want gaze at flames as well as fish.
London-based Aquarium Architecture sells a lush 1,057-gallon garden equipped with LED lighting to simulate sunrise and sunset, which is believed to decrease stress for certain types of fish. The $40,000 tank also can simulate storms to stimulate breeding.
Some aquarium buyers choose an “aquascape” stocked with the types of fish they encountered while snorkeling or scuba diving. Others focus more on creating a small-scale representations of scenes in nature, a mountainous area, for example, or a rain forest.
Aquariums may convey health benefits as well as bragging rights. Funded by a not-for-profit organization in the UK that focuses on marine biology, a research study of 84 people determined that aquariums can reduce blood pressure.
AutoNation will acquire 12 stores that represent $800 million in revenue.
The Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer (NYSE: AN) announced Wednesday that it would buy Allen Samuels Auto Group, which has locations in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Corpus Christi,Tyler, Ennis and Waco, Texas markets. Allen Samuels Auto Group has 31 franchises across its stores, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter.
Once the acquisition is completed, Texas will represent about 25 percent of total revenue for AutoNation, with 53 stores including 82 franchises and 5,300 employees.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Since the beginning of 2015, AutoNation has announced purchases that represent $1.7 billion in added revenue. Last month, the company closed a deal,announced in September, to buy a Mercedes-Benz store, an Audi store, and a Subaru and Volkswagen store from Valley Motors Auto Group in the Baltimore market. Another acquisition of 13 stores from Carl Gregory Enterprises is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Once those acquisitions are complete, AutoNation will have a total of 265 stores and 372 franchises.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to add 12 stores throughout the state of Texas," AutoNation Chairman, President and CEO Mike Jackson said in the announcement. "This acquisition will enhance our brand mix in the state of Texas. We also look forward to welcoming Allen Samuels' customers and 1,000 associates to the AutoNation family."
The company also reported an all-time record for its earnings per share – at $119 million, or $1.05 a share – in the third quarter of 2015, up 17 percent from the same period a year prior. Revenue totaled $5.4 billion, up 9 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
AutoNation hares were up 1.28 percent, or 75 cents, to $61.76 in morning trading. The 52-week high was $67.50 on April 22. The 52-week low was 53.73 on Aug. 24.
Custom-madeaquariums are emerging as pricey fixtures in luxury homes.Prices can range from roughly $5,000 for a 10-gallon tank to $1 million and up for a tank that hold 5,000 gallons of water.
The Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer (NYSE: AN) announced Wednesday that it would buy Allen Samuels Auto Group, which has locations in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Corpus Christi,Tyler, Ennis and Waco, Texas markets.Allen Samuels Auto Group has 31 franchises across its stores, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter.