Mavis acquiring Tuffy Tire, expands reach to 35 states

MILLWOOD, N.Y. —  Mavis Tire Express Services Corp., the nation's No. 3 indepenedent retail tire dealership, is ending the year with a major acquisition.

The Millwood-based dealership is buying Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Centers, a 51-year-old automotive repair and maintenance franchisor with 165 service centers in operation across the Midwest, South and Southeast.

Tuffy CEO and President Roger Hill will join the leadership team of the combined organization, according to Mavis.
Financial terms of the deal, expected to close before year-end, are not being disclosed.

Once the deal closes, Mavis will operate more than 1,200 locations in 35 states; the total includes an estimated 100 to 125 franchised Express Oil/Tire Engineers outlets.

Mavis said Tuffy will remain headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, and its 140-plus franchise-owned stores will continue to be owned and operated by their respective franchisees.

According to Tire Business research, Mavis is the third largest independent tire dealership in the U.S., based on company-owned points of sale. Based on total outlets — i.e.,  including franchised stores — it's ranked fourth, behind TBC Corp., Icahn Automotive and Monro Inc.

Founded in 1970, Tuffy offers include brakes, shocks, tires, tune-ups, oil change, transmission repair and preventative maintenance. According to information posted on the firm's corporate website, franchised Tuffy outlets average a little over $1 million a year in revenue.

David Sorbaro, co-CEO of Mavis, said the merger "unites two best-in-class tire and auto service centers with leading services and capabilities across the United States."

"We look forward to working alongside the talented team at Tuffy as we continue to execute on our growth plan, build and scale our combined platform and provide excellent customer service," he said.

“At Tuffy, we are committed to providing the best automotive repair service in the industry, and teaming up with Mavis will allow us to expand our reach and continue our strong commitment to deep craftsmanship,” Mr. Hill said.

“Over the past 50 years, Tuffy has grown to become one of the largest automotive repair franchises in the country, and we are excited to become part of another highly-respected organization in our industry.”

Covington & Burling L.L.P. served as legal counsel to Mavis while Spengler Nathanson served as legal counsel to Tuffy, and Jon Molayem and Robert Cross of Acquivest Financial Group acted as financial advisers to Tuffy.
The acquisition follows a spate of similar deals announced over the last six weeks.

Sun Auto Tire acquired three family-owned dealerships with 51 points of sale: T.O. Haas Tire & Auto Co., with 27 locations in Nebraska and Kansas; Bruce's Tire & Auto Service, with seven locations in northern California; and Delta World Tire, the New Orleans-based family-owned dealership with 17 stores in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Three weeks prior to that Sun Auto announced it was acquiring Plaza Tire Service of Cape Girardeu, Mo., and its 70 locations across Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northern Arkansas, as well as Plaza's wholesale business.