American Tire Distributors (ATD) is an American distributor and retailer of automotive parts and supplies, including tires and wheels. The company has locations across the United States and Canada.

History

J.H. Heafner Co. was founded in

Lincolnton, North Carolina Lincolnton is a city in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, within the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,486 at the 2010 census. Lincolnton is northwest of Charlotte, on the South Fork of the Catawba River. The city i ...

in 1935. The company acquired Winston Tire Company in 1997, and moved ATD's headquarters from Lincolnton to Charlotte in 1998. Heafner Tire sold Winston Tire Company to Performance Management, Inc. in 2001. In 2000, Heafner Group acquired American Tire Distributors. Heafner Tire changed its name to American Tire Distributors (ATD) in 2002. American Tire Distributors was acquired by

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

in 2010. In 2018,

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

announced that it would no longer use American Tire Distributors to distribute its products. The announcement caused the value of ATD shares to plummet.

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

ended its partnership with ATD soon after Goodyear's announcement, leaving the company without two of its largest manufacturers. ATD filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection in October 2018, seeking to cut $1.1 billion of the company's debt. ATD received assistance refinancing from investors, including

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

. The company emerged from bankruptcy in December 2018. The company struggled to recover in the wake of filing bankruptcy due to the loss of its relationship with several major tire manufacturers. American Tire Distributors had an annual revenue of $5 billion in 2019. In February 2021,

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

led talks on a $1 billion

junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...

deal to refinance ATD, which had not recovered from the loss of major manufacturing partners. As of 2021,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

lists the company as the 81st largest privately owned company in the United States.{{Cite web, title=America's Largest Private Companies, url=https://www.forbes.com/largest-private-companies/list/, access-date=2021-08-14, website=Forbes, language=en

References

Automotive part retailers of the United States 1935 establishments in North Carolina Automotive companies of the United States Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina