AKRON—Mergers and acquisitions among wholesale, commercial and retail dealers were abundant throughout the year, affecting nearly 200 sales and service locations and representing more than $500 million in transaction value.
Monro Muffler Brake Inc. was the most active player, acquiring 87 stores in five separate deals, including the acquisitions outright of Kramer Tire and Tire Barn Warehouse and caches of retail stores from Colony Tire Corp. and Tuffy Associates Corp., along with a number of smaller, individual deals.
The deals represent more than $120 million in annual sales to Monro's ledger.
The biggest single deal of the year was TBC Corp.'s $310 million takeover of Midas Inc. and control of the Midas and SpeeDee Oil franchise systems, which count more than 1,600 franchise stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. The network represents annual sales volume of more than $1 billion, of which about 10 percent is from tires.
What would have been the year's biggest deal — Gores Group L.L.C.'s proposed acquisition of Pep Boys–Manny, Moe & Jack — was called off in early June, triggering a $50 million payout to Philadelphia-based Pep Boys.
Major deals of the past year on the wholesale side included:
- American Tire Distributors Holdings Inc. bought TriCan Tire Distributors of Edmonton, Alberta, for $97.5 million; the deal includes 15 warehouses across Canada.
- K&M Tire Inc. of Delphos, Ohio, acquired warehouses in Houston and Dallas from Reliable Tire Co., and bought Michigan Tire & Wheel of Crystal, Mich., expanding its network to 16 distribution centers in 11 states.
- Hornsby Tire Distributors Inc. of Dothan, Ala., bought David Tire Co. of Birmingham, Ala., expanding its network to three warehouses.
- TBC Corp.'s Carroll Tire Co. unit acquired the wholesale and distribution operations of Eldorado Tire Co. of Kentucky, consisting of distribution centers in Knoxville, Tenn., and Louisville.
- O'Reilly Automotive Inc. agreed to buy the auto-parts-related assets of VIP Parts, Tires & Service.
Among retailers:
- Somerset Tire Services acquired 21 Strauss Discount Auto stores via the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, for $10 million.
- Pep Boy–Manny, Moe & Jack, took over two Strauss Discount Auto stores via the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for $800,000.
- Fountain Tire of Edmonton, Alberta, acquired 50-percent ownership of Royal Tire Service Ltd. of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with nine stores in northern Ontario.
- Kansasland Tire bought Gregg Tire, with three stores in the Topeka, Kan., market, expanding it store network in Kansas to 22 locations.
- Zafco Trading L.L.C. bought Martino Tire of Miami and took over six Martino stores.
- Goodyear took over five other Martino Tire stores.
- Green Garage Inc. of Boulder, Colo., bought Tire Source Inc., also of Boulder.
Monro's deals invididually were:
- Tire Barn Warehouse, 31 stores; $70 million annual sales;
- Strauss Discount Auto, 1 store;
- Tuffy Associates Corp., 17 Tuffy Auto Service Centers and Car-RX stores in South Carolina and Wisonsin for $9 million;
- Ken Towery's Tire & Auto Service, 27 stores in Kentucky and Indiana;
- Enger Auto Service & Tires, 12 stores in Ohio;
- Tire King Complete Car Care, 9 stores in and around Durham, N.C.;
- Colony Tire Co., 18 retail stores in North Carolina and Virginia, for approximately $25 million; and
- Kramer Tire Co., 20 stores in Virginia, for approximately $25 million.
Among commercial dealerships:
- Bauer Built Inc. acquired Hanson Tire Service Inc., with stores in LeRoy and Preston, Minn., and took over a commercial tire outlet in Omaha, Neb., from Walker Tire & Auto Service.
- McCarthy Tire Services Co. bought Main Tire Exchange, with locations in Buffalo, Rochester and Dansville, N.Y., with one retread plant.
- Pete's Tire Barns Inc. purchased certain assets of the commercial tire division of VIP Inc., d.b.a. Quirk Tire Co., including the dealership's Westborough, Mass., location. And acquired New Haven Tire Inc., a single-outlet commercial and retail dealership in New Haven, Vt.
- Colony Tire Inc. bought Kramer Tire Co. commercial tire outlets in Norfolk and Hampton, Va., from Monro Muffler Brake Inc., which had acquired them in its purchase of Kramer Tire.
- East Bay Tire Co. acquired R&G Tire Center Inc., a commercial and retail dealership in Hawaii with locations in Kona and Hilo.