Following its listing on Inc. magazine’s 2009 tally of the fastest-growing private companies in the country, American Tire Distributors, Inc. plans to go public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Using the symbol ATD, the company has filed an official Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek an initial public offering, known among Wall Streeters as an IPO.
Pricing and the amount of shares to be sold has yet to be determined pending further action from the SEC.
According to William E. “Bill” Berry, president and CEO, ATD is the largest replacement tire distributor in the nation with a network of 83 distribution centers serving 37 states. It markets some 40,000 SKUs of tires, custom wheels and related products to more than 35,000 retailers and repair shops.
“We succeed when our dealers succeed,” says Berry, “and that’s why we’re working harder than ever to ensure ATD has the products and programs our customers need.”
The lineup includes frequent inventory deliveries; business support services such as credit, training and access to consumer market data; administration of tire manufacturer affiliate programs, an online ordering and reporting system and an Internet site enabling retailers to reach consumer cyberspace shoppers.
Out of 5,000 top-performing firms assessed by Inc. last year, ATD ranked No. 13 in revenues and was No. 25 on the list in gross dollars of growth. ATD posted nearly $2 billion in revenues in 2008, up 30.3 percent over the three-year period covered by the publication’s analysis. It did not include ATD’s December purchase of Am-Pac Tire Distributors, which recorded revenues of $264.5 million for fiscal 2008.
The Am-Pac acquisition is expected to improve ATD’s ability to serve existing tire dealers while expanding its footprint into the St. Louis area, West Texas and other markets, notes Berry, who says ATD currently supplies about 10 percent of all the replacement tires sold in the U.S.
Headquartered in Huntersville, N.C., ATD was founded in 1935 as the J.H. Heafner Co., a single tire store in Lincolnton, N.C. It began aggressive nationwide acquisition efforts in the mid-1980s, adopting the ATD moniker in 2002.
For more information, visit www.americantiredistributors.com.
