Visions - Spring/Summer 2012 - (Page 14)

L I V I N G R E L AT E D G R O U P / S U B S I D I A R Y SCOA Subsidiary TBC Corporation Gets The Midas Touch I n April of this year, TBC Corporation, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) and one of the largest marketers of replacement tires in North America, completed the acquisition of Midas, Inc., one of the world’s largest providers of automotive services with over 2,250 franchised, licensed and company-owned locations in 14 countries. The acquisition included the Midas owned SpeeDee Oil Change business with 161 auto service centers in the United States and Mexico. The total transaction is valued at approximately $310 million. “Midas is a terrific fit for TBC. We are very excited to welcome such an iconic brand into our portfolio”, stated Larry Day, TBC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “By combining the strengths of Midas’ platform with our industry expertise and financial resources, we will build on their current momentum and take the company to the Larry Day next level. TBC will leverage the strengths of all our retail brands to deliver unparalleled service to today’s consumers.” Day went on to emphasize the commitment of TBC Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation of America to TBC’s franchise operations, which include Big O Tires. “In addition to our commitment to consumers, we are dedicated to strengthening the success of our franchisees. They are a significant part of the industry and play a critical part in the success of our overall strategic plan.” Day explained that the decision to acquire an established and well-known automotive service chain was a strategic move for TBC overall. “The automotive service space is a $180 billion a year industry and is highly fragmented,” Day said. “Because Midas is an established and recognizable brand name, we believe there is a tremendous upside, both short and long term, to adding them to our portfolio. Also, we seek to expand their product offering to include a larger selection of competitively priced automotive products, tires and services.” Attributes like brand recognition and synergy potential attracted TBC to Midas in the first place, according to Day. “This is a very well-known brand,” Day explained. “Midas has a domestic franchise network of almost 1500 stores, and a significant v i s i o n s S p r i n g | S u m m e r 2 0 1 2 presence in Canada and Mexico as well as countries in Europe, and some representation in Australia and South America. This now provides us with not just an expanded foundation of retail stores in the United States, but an opportunity to leverage our TBC de Mexico business to support the franchisees in that country.” Also, Midas existed as an attractive acquisition possibility for several years, said Day. “We’d been looking at this specific transaction for the past year,” Day said,“but TBC had considered acquiring Midas on-and-off at least three times since 2006.” “Each of the TBC brands has a unique positioning in the marketplace and that’s why we’re able to support the number of retail brands that we now have. Each brand means a little something different to the consumer and we want to maintain and leverage those unique attributes. By doing so, we can execute multiple brand formats within a single market without cannibalization thus realizing incremental market share growth.” Day also said that the Midas merger is very consistent with TBC’s original strategy prior to the acquisition by Sumitomo – to expand their presence in the automotive service category. The Midas acquisition is proof that the strategy has never wavered. 14

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Visions - Spring/Summer 2012

Visions - Spring/Summer 2012
Table of Contents
Agrochemical and Agricultural Business In Central and South America
Diversified CPC Acquires Pure Chem Separation
TBC Corporation Gets The Midas Touch
SCOA Expands Windpower Business With Duke Energy Partnership

Visions - Spring/Summer 2012