Palladium Equity Partners, LLC, a middle market private equity firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management, recently announced the sale of Raben Tire Company to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Raben is one of the largest tire and service companies in the Midwest. Its operations include more than 30 commercial and consumer tire and service locations and retread production plants. Palladium invested in the company in partnership with the Raben family in 2014.
“As Raben joins the Goodyear family of industry-leading products and services, we thank Palladium for their strong partnership with our team over the past five years,” said Scott Cisney, CEO of Raben. “Together with Palladium, we executed a range of initiatives, including increasing the number of services offered, opening new locations and pursuing strategic acquisitions.”
“We knew when we invested in the company in 2014 that Raben had established a strong brand reputation in the Midwest by offering excellent service to its loyal customer following and strong relationships with its suppliers,” said Chris Allen, a managing director of Palladium. “It was important to Palladium to work closely with Scott Cisney and his team to execute a focused strategy that recognized the achievements of this family-founded company while expanding and strengthening the business through organic and M&A initiatives.”
Dean Holland, chairman of Raben, said, “Palladium played a key role in Raben’s growth as one of the largest tire and service companies in the Midwest, helping to professionalize a business founded at a single location in 1952 by Butch Raben. We are pleased that Raben will now join the Goodyear family, expanding its network and strengthening its ability to serve fleets.”
BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Raben. Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as Raben’s legal counsel.
