Owners of Bend-based Les Schwab Tire Centers exploring sale, valuing company at over $7 billion, Reuters reports

NEW YORK (KTVZ) - The investment firm that owns Les Schwab Tire Centers is exploring options including a sale of the Bend-based tire retail chain that could value it at more than $7 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

The report said Meritage Group has tapped investment bankers at Goldman Sachs to launch a sale process for Les Schwab Tire that is expected to garner interest from private equity firms and other tire retailers. The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential.

A spokeswoman for Les Schwab Tire Centers told NewsChannel 21 on Monday that company had no comment on the Reuters report.

Les Schwab founded the company with a single store in Prineville, when he bought OK Rubber Welders in 1952. While its headquarters moved to Bend, its production facilities remained in Prineville, where Les and wife Dorothy were a strong, supportive voice in the community.

Schwab became known as the "Tire King," and the tire retailer has more than 500 locations across 13 states in the Western U.S., according to its website. It also has more than 7,000 employees.

Meritage, a family-owned investment firm, announced it was purchasing the tire business in September 2020.

Terms were not disclosed, when one of the most iconic Central Oregon-born companies and the region's third-largest private employer put itself up for sale in late 2019, analysts said a deal could fetch up to $3 billion.

Les Schwab Tire, which sells tires, other auto parts and offers auto services, is one of the largest tire retailers in the United States along with retailers like Mavis Tire and Discount Tire, which are also privately held.

"Private equity firms traditionally have been active investors in the tire and auto industry because of the steady cash flows generated by the businesses, which are seen as relatively recession-proof and less prone to disruption from online retailing," the Reuters report stated.