Monro Muffler Brake has purchased 26 St. Louis-based Autotire Car Care Centers from the Am-Pac subsidiary of American Tire Distributors (ATD).
The price was not disclosed; the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June.
ATD had acquired Autotire – which has a marketing area covering parts of Missouri and Illinois – as part of its December 2008 purchase of Am-Pac, which also included 11 other stores located primarily in Southern California.
William E. “Bill” Berry, ATD’s president and CEO, says that “we do not intend to compete with our customers. We believe this business model differentiates us from many other companies that distribute tires and related products in the marketplace. We want our customers to look at us as a valued advisor and partner, not as a competitor.”
Founded more than 25 years ago, Autotire grew from an initial six stores to 26 retail outlets, a parts division and a wholesale tire operation with a 45,000 square-foot warehouse. The company employs more than 275 people. It became a member of the American Car Care Centers Group in 1999.
ATD was established in 1935 as the J.H. Heafner Co. with a single tire store in Lincolnton, N.C. It adopted the American Tire Distributors moniker in 2002 amid a series of acquisitions with a nationwide distribution focus. Currently employing more than 2,200 people, the Charlotte, N.C.-based firm has a 270,000-sq. ft. national warehouse plus 82 regional warehouses encompassing more than 4.5 million sq. ft. The motor pool includes more than 900 delivery vehicles.
Monro was founded in Rochester, N.Y. by Charles (Chuck) J. August in 1957 as part of another company’s franchise; the operation became independent in 1966. Expanding to 20 locations by 1977, in 1998 the company purchased all of the 205 Speedy Muffler King locations in the United States as part of an ongoing series of acquisitions and expansions. Going public in 1999, Monro trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol MNRO. It has 715 retail tire and auto service stores in 17 states, operating under the names of Monro Muffler Brake, Mr. Tire and Treadquarters.
For more information, visit www.monro.com, www.autotire.com and www.atd-us.com.
