Greenbriar sells majority stake in Sun Auto Tire & Service

PHOENIX — Greenbriar Equity Group Inc. has sold majority ownership of the Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc. automotive aftermarket retail business, four months after adopting the Sun Auto name.

Greenbriar confirmed Sept. 16 it recently entered into an agreement with Leonard Green & Partners, which makes Leonard Green a majority investor in Sun Auto Tire & Service, which was previously know as GB Automotive. Greenbriar remains a shareholder in the company.

With more than 200 stores, Sun Auto is considered the seventh largest retail tire dealership in the U.S.

"The Leonard Green team members are extremely experienced investors in the automotive aftermarket space, with many success stories including Mister Car Wash," Jeffry Gardner, marketing vice president of Sun Auto, told Tire Business.

"In addition, this team was the group that grew Caliber Collision into what is now the largest provider of collision repair services in the country."

Leonard Green sees this as an exciting opportunity to help continue to support our future growth, the company said.

Sun Auto CEO Frank Kneller, who was hired in 2018 to head up the rapidly growing business, has told the company he is stepping down as CEO in order to pursue other opportunities, the company said. Mr. Kneller will remain with the company through the transition.

Tony Puckett will join the company as CEO of Sun Auto Tire & Service.

"Tony has had an incredibly accomplished career with Valvoline for 35 years, most recently as the head of their Quick Lube division where he oversaw the growth of that business from 900 to 1,500 locations," Mr. Gardner said. "Tony has the right combination of aftermarket service experience and business building expertise to take Sun to the next level."

"Tony has had an incredibly accomplished career with Valvoline for 35 years, most recently as the head of their Quick Lube division where he oversaw the growth of that business from 900 to 1,500 locations," Mr. Gardner said. "Tony has the right combination of aftermarket service experience and business building expertise to take Sun to the next level."

The company goes to market with 10 individual retail brand names in the retail markets it serves in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas. Sun Auto Tire said it is capable of serving over 1 million customers per year through the 1,500-plus service bays it maintains at its stores.

Greenbriar began building GB Automotive in 2017 with the acquisition of Brake Max Car Care Centers of Arizona. The group first began look at the sector in 2015 when it hired David Dyckman, a former American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) executive, who was tasked with evaluating potential investment opportunities.