Dealer Tire to acquire Dent Wizard

CLEVELAND — Dealer Tire L.L.C. is buying Dent Wizard International, a national provider of automotive reconditioning services and vehicle protection products, to augment the range of aftersales services it offers.

St. Louis-based Dent Wizard considers itself North America's largest provider of automotive reconditioning services and vehicle protection products, such as paintless dent repair, minor wheel and paint refinishing, interior repair and key replacement, in-transit repair, hail and catastrophe services and related F&I products.

Backed by majority shareholder Bain Capital L.L.C., Dealer Tire — whose main business is distributing tires and wheels to car dealerships — is acquiring Dent Wizard from Gridiron Capital L.L.C. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

Dent Wizard claims in excess of 7,000 customers – including more than 5,000 car dealership accounts – in 97 of the top 100 U.S. markets.It employs more than 2,300 technicians.

"The combination of Dent Wizard's reconditioning capabilities and Dealer Tire's service lane presence offers greater opportunities to help car dealers increase their fixed operations sales and profits and to increase customer retention," Scott Mueller, partner and CEO of Dealer Tire, said.

"This acquisition aligns with our strategy of making it easy and profitable for dealers to sell more tires, parts, services and accessories."

Dent Wizard will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its existing management team headed by CEO Mike Black, Dealer Tire said.

"Dealer Tire and Dent Wizard have similar goals, core values and compelling value propositions which make this a powerful partnership," Mr. Black said.

"This combination is a great fit because our cultures are very much aligned and we will be thoughtful and deliberate in ensuring that we preserve and harness the best of both organizations as we execute on the many growth opportunities that we see ahead to serve our customers. We have had an outstanding partnership with Gridiron and look forward to the same with Dealer Tire and Bain Capital."

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions, including requisite regulatory approvals.

"We've built our business by consistently driving innovation in the tire distribution business and by providing automotive dealers with the tools and services they need to be successful on the service drive," Mr. Mueller added.

"As Dealer Tire enters our 102nd year in business, strategic investments like this ensure that we are continuously elevating our position as an innovative partner focused on helping dealers grow."