In a statement provided to MTD, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said its recently announced acquisition, Raben Tire Co., will continue to operate under its own name “for the immediate future.”
Earlier this week, Goodyear announced that it had acquired the Evansville, Ind.-based chain, which has 30 locations across the Midwest, plus three retread plants. Raben Tire is the 37th largest independent tire dealership in the United States, according to the 2019 MTD 100. Raben Tire has 9 retail-only outlets, 10 commercial-only outlets and 11 combined retail/commercial locations. It also operates two wholesale distribution facilities.
“The acquisition was a stock deal and includes all of Raben Tire’s businesses,” said a Goodyear spokesperson, who confirmed that Raben Tire’s locations “will become part of Goodyear’s company-owned network.”
Goodyear said that Raben Tire’s management team “remains in place and is working with Goodyear on an integration plan.”
In addition to Goodyear-brand products, the dealership carries the following brands: Kelly, Dunlop, Michelin, BFGoodrich, Pirelli, Continental, General, Yokohama and Kenda, according to MTD research.
Raben Tire, which was founded in 1952 by Henry “Butch” Raben, had been owned by affiliates of Palladium Equity Partners LLC since 2014. After the partnership with Palladium was announced, MTD talked with Tom Raben and a represntative from the private equity group about the deal. (Read our Q&A here.)
In 2002, Tom Raben was named MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year.
