Texas truck dealer buys Calif. truck insurance firm

Texas truck dealer buys Calif. truck insurance firm Nationwide heavy-duty truck dealer Rush Enterprises Inc. said last week it has acquired the four offices of insurance and finance company Advanced Transportation Insurance Services Inc. of Laguna Niguel, for about $2 million.
   Added to Rush's San Antonio-based Associated Insurance Services, the new combined company will be called Associated Truck Insurance Services (ATIS), and remain headquartered in Texas.
   The deal includes offices in Laguna Niguel, Vacaville, Murrieta and Chino, expanding the insurance network to 21 locations. Brett Moore, previous owner of Advanced Transportation Insurance Services, will remain in the Laguna Niguel offices as the new western regional manager for ATIS.
   In an additional deal, Rush Enterprises bought Allen-Jensen Inc., a GMC and Isuzu medium-duty truck dealer in Waco, Texas, for about $6.3 million. The transaction became effective March 12.
   Rush said the new dealership will now carry the Peterbilt line of products and operate as a full-service Rush Truck Center offering heavy-duty Peterbilt trucks, medium-duty Peterbilt, GMC and Isuzu trucks as well as heavy- and medium-duty parts and service support.
   Rush Enterprises Inc. operates a network of full-service heavy-duty truck and medium-duty dealerships as well as a network of more than 40 Rush Truck Centers located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas.