Icahn/Pep Boys buying Advanced Auto of Phoenix

PHOENIX — Icahn Automotive Group L.L.C. is buying Advanced Auto Service & Tire Centers of Phoenix, adding 15 retail stores in the Phoenix metro area that it plans to convert to its Pep Boys Service & Tire Centers brand.

The acquisition will allow Icahn Automotive to nearly double its presence in the Phoenix area, where the company operates 20-plus Pep Boys stores.

Icahn described the deal as a "definite agreement to acquire." It did not comment on when it expects the deal to close nor on the value.

Advanced Auto owner Paul Couture opened his first store in Phoenix in 1989 and built the business steadily to 15 stores along with a wholesale business known as Tire Partners. The businesses operate under a holding known as Paragon Enterprises. Total employment is 120 plus.

Mr. Couture did not comment on the deal.

"This expansion of our service center network in Arizona will allow us to serve more customers in more neighborhoods, from Flagstaff in the north to Nogales in the south," according to Bill Ihnken, president of service for Icahn Automotive.

Advanced Auto's shops average seven service bays and offer a full range of automotive services under the Goodyear Tire & Service network umbrella.

Nine of Advanced Auto's stores are in Phoenix's densely populated East Valley, Icahn Automotive said, with three in the West Valley and three further north in Prescott, Prescott Valley and Flagstaff.

Icahn Automotive Dan Ninivaggi said his company welcomes Advanced's "outstanding team" to Icahn Automotive and looks forward to building on the customer relationships the dealership has developed over the last 28 years.

This is Icahn Automotive's third significant acquisition of 2017:

• Precision Auto Care Inc., the franchisor of the Precision Tune Auto Care automotive service business, with roughly 250 Precision Tune stores in the U.S. — including 43 locations owned by Precision Auto — and 65 more locations outside the U.S.

• Mathis Tire & Auto Service and Direct Tire Distributors in Memphis, establishing a retail position in that market for the first time with a dozen locations and a 6,000-unit warehouse.

• Just Brakes L.L.C., an automotive repair and maintenance chain with 134 stores throughout the U.S. southern tier.

These acquisitions together with the Advanced Auto purchase and some individual store openings will expand the Pep Boys network by more than 200 locations to approximately 1,000 stores nationwide, including nearly 450 Service & Tires format locations.