Dealer Tire, LLC, a national leader in replacement tire distribution for automotive dealerships, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dent Wizard, a national provider of automotive reconditioning services and vehicle protection products. Dealer Tire, backed by majority shareholder Bain Capital, is acquiring Dent Wizard from Gridiron Capital (Gridiron).
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Dent Wizard is a provider of automotive reconditioning services and vehicle protection products. The company services the light vehicle needs of more than 7,000 customers – including over 5,000 car dealership accounts – in 97 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Its 2,300 highly trained technicians deliver paintless dent repair, minor wheel and paint refinishing, interior repair and key replacement, in-transit repair, hail and catastrophe services, as well as related F&I products.
Dent Wizard will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its existing management team headed by CEO Mike Black.
“The combination of Dent Wizard’s reconditioning capabilities and Dealer Tire’s service lane presence offers greater opportunities to help car dealers increase their fixed operations sales and profits and to increase customer retention,” said Scott Mueller, partner and CEO of Dealer Tire. “This acquisition aligns with our strategy of making it easy and profitable for dealers to sell more tires, parts, services and accessories.”
“Dealer Tire and Dent Wizard have similar goals, core values and compelling value propositions which make this a powerful partnership,” said Black. “This combination is a great fit because our cultures are very much aligned and we will be thoughtful and deliberate in ensuring that we preserve and harness the best of both organizations as we execute on the many growth opportunities that we see ahead to serve our customers. We have had an outstanding partnership with Gridiron and look forward to the same with Dealer Tire and Bain Capital.”
“We’ve built our business by consistently driving innovation in the tire distribution business and by providing automotive dealers with the tools and services they need to be successful on the service drive,” added Mueller. “As Dealer Tire enters our 102nd year in business, strategic investments like this ensure that we are continuously elevating our position as an innovative partner focused on helping dealers grow.”
The transaction, which is expected to close in Q1 2020, is subject to customary closing conditions, including requisite regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
