By Amy Antenora
The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most highly read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, click on any of the dates listed at the bottom of the page to begin catching up on the latest industry news.
Today is a testimony to the fact that the aftermarket never sleeps. While we had a number of important news stories that AMN readers ranked as the most read stories of the week, today alone, two more major industry developments have taken place that we need to share with you.
First up, earlier today O’Reilly Automotive issued a public statement announcing that it is proposing to acquire all of the outstanding shares of CSK Auto Corp. common stock for $8 per share in cash. In a letter to CSK President and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Mondry, O’Reilly CEO Greg Henslee wrote that the company owes it to respective stakeholders “to pursue this opportunity vigorously.” Henslee said the company “felt forced” to take its proposal directly to CSK’s shareholders after not being able to move forward with a private transaction between the two companies. While the Wall Street Journal called it a hostile takeover bid, in the letter Henslee also stated that “We would unquestionably prefer to work cooperatively with you to complete a negotiated transaction that would produce substantial benefits for our respective stockholders.”
Earlier this week, CSK announced that it was realigning its management structure and was eliminating several vice president positions. In a press release, the company said that Chief Executive Officer Larry Mondry reassigned several executives in order to leverage existing skills and experience across the senior management team and to continue reducing general and administrative operating costs. “Creating a leaner, more efficient management structure across the various corporate functions is an important step in CSK Auto’s continued transformation,” said Mondry.
Personnel issues have emerged as a significant theme this week, as all of the top-ranked stories on AMN this week dealt with management changes.
AMN readers were saddened to learn of the passing of longtime Federated member Marvin Mastroff. Mastroff, founder and president of Miami-based Cold Air Distributors, passed away on Jan. 24 after a prolonged illness. He was 75.
In other personnel news, parts manufacturer GMB announced the retirement of its CEO Karl Yazaki. Yazaki retired at the end of 2007, after more than 30 years with the company. He began as an independent sales rep for GMB, and in 1976 was hired as a staff member to open the company’s first satellite office.
While many aftermarket executives who are part of the Baby Boomer generation are getting prepared for retirement, research shows older workers are in demand today. Recently, the American Association of Retired Persons added three U.S. government agencies and six corporations to its list of employers looking to hire people 50 and older for a range of full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs. In all, 38 of the nation’s employers have expressed an interest in hiring seniors.
To view all of the news from the past week, simply click on the link for each corresponding day:
