Leeds West Groups acquires Midas location in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY — Leeds West Groups (LWG) has continued to ramp up its portfolio, acquiring a Midas Service & Auto automotive and repair retail store in Oklahama City.

LWG assumed operations of the facility on Aug. 31. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Greenwood-based LWG, which in early March acquired a Midas shop in Kearney Neb., now operates 79 Midas locations, including five in Oklahoma.

The shop previously was operated by Scott and Donald Tilley, who retired. It was the only shop they owned.

"(The Tilleys) have served the Oklahoma City area for many years and have done a great job representing the Midas brand," Alan Mahrt, ASE division chief operating officer, said.

"We are extremely excited to take over in their footsteps and continue to serve the customers in this great Oklahoma City community."

LWG, which was founded in 2009 by CEO Judd Shader, said the location will offer the full brand of Midas services. LWG has four other Midas locations in Oklahoma, in the Tulsa metro area.

Mr. Shader said LWG was looking to expand its footprint in Oklahoma, outside of the Tulsa market.

"We view Oklahoma as a underserved market," he said. "This is the first step in doing so, and we look forward to hopefully more announcements this year moving in that direction filling in from Oklahoma City back to Tulsa."

In mid-July, LWG announced it was acquiring a pair of Big O Tire stores in Kentucky and one in Ohio currently operated by Ed Reynolds, a franchisee based in Florence, Ky.

According to the company, LWG is funded by "family office" funds that acquire, own and manage national automotive repair franchise brands, including Midas, Big O Tires and SpeeDee Oil, across the U.S. It employs 1,000 and has 105 automotive retail locations in 18 states under its umbrella.