Editorial: Why Private Equity is Here to Stay

Nary a week goes by where my colleagues, Sara Welch and Aden Graves, and I don’t receive a press release or see an announcement about the acquisition of another tire dealership by a private equity firm. It’s almost become routine. 

However, I must admit that the recent sale of Grismer Tire Co., a tire dealership based in Dayton, Ohio, to CenterOak Partners LLC, a Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm, made me stop and think about the changing nature of our industry, not just because of the transaction itself, but because Grismer Tire had been independently owned and operated for so long - since 1932, to be exact. 

Grismer Tire’s second owner, Charles “Charlie” Marshall Sr., father of John Marshall, the dealership’s recent majority owner, and the late Charlie “Rusty” Marshall, who ran Grismer Tire with John for many decades, personally knew Harvey Firestone, who founded his namesake tire manufacturer, Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 126 years ago. (Grismer Tire, to my knowledge, is the second-oldest Firestone tire dealership in existence, right behind Ziegler Tire & Supply, another Ohio-based independent, which was founded in 1919.)

The CenterOak Partners-Grismer Tire deal also reinforces something that I’ve discussed more than a few times in this column over the past few years: Private equity investment in independent tire dealerships is here to stay. That isn’t just because more aging tire dealers will be looking for an exit ramp, though that trend will accelerate, as well. It’s the amount of money involved. Private equity firms are sitting on mountains of cash and they’ve discovered that tire dealerships are a good investment. 

In MTD’s 2026 Facts Issue, published this past January, we listed the dealerships on the MTD 100, our annually updated registry of the largest tire dealerships in the United States, that are owned outright — or are partially owned — by private equity groups. What we didn’t mention is the monetary value of some of these groups’ assets. Here are just a few. 

Meritage Group LP, which acquired Bend, Ore.-based Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc., six years ago, says it manages $13 billion in assets. Percheron Capital, which owns Moorpark, Calif.-based Big Brand Tire & Service, says it has more than $7.5 billion in assets under management and completed a $1.6 billion recapitalization of Big Brand Tire & Service last October. Audax Private Equity, which owns Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers, says it has around $19.5 billion in assets. Leonard Green & Partners, which owns Mesa, Ariz.-based Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc., says it currently has $85 billion in assets — yes, you read that correctly — an amount that’s almost impossible for me to visualize. 

This money is being put to use aggressively. One year ago, Big Brand Tire & Service had 253 stores. It now has 350 outlets and intends to have 1,000 locations by the year 2030. Sun Auto Tire & Service has boosted its store count to more than 575 locations, up from around 520 stores just 10 months ago. Under Audax Private Equity’s ownership, Dobbs Tire Auto Centers, over the last two years, has grown from just under 45 stores to more than 150 locations. Les Schwab Tire Centers, while still centered in the Pacific Northwest, continues to expand eastward and to the south, moving into new markets.

In addition, Straightaway Tire & Auto (owned by 02 Investment Partners LP), Left Lane Auto LLC (partially owned by Bertram Capital), Goodturn Tire & Auto (owned by Garnett Station Partners) and Telle Tire & Auto Centers (which brought in private equity firm Next Horizon Capital in 2024) have all rapidly added locations in the last year, through both new builds and the roll-up of other tire dealerships and auto service locations.  

Perhaps most dramatically, Mavis Tire Express Services Corp, which is owned by BayPine LP, TSG Consumer Partners and David and Stephen Sorbaro, added 1,200 locations to its network nearly 12 months ago, when it finalized the purchase of Midas International from TBC Corp., giving Mavis more than 3,500 locations and counting. 

We’re going to see more of this and here’s another thing: Private equity groups will continue to acquire smaller tire dealerships. Here at MTD, we believe there are around 29,000 independent tire dealership locations throughout the U.S. Approximately 54% of those are single stores. Seven percent are dealerships with two to 10 locations. Thirty-nine percent — less than you might expect — are dealerships with 11 or more locations. Dealerships the size of Grismer Tire — at 28 stores — and bigger ones will remain attractive to private equity. But there are a lot of single-store owners out there who could be ready to cash in their chips.  

Big money is on the table and more longtime independents like Grismer Tire will consider — and ultimately accept — private equity offers. You can bank on that.

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].