Replace Tire and Battery

Sears Roebuck and Co. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) announced a definitive agreement to sell its National Tire & Battery (NTB) business to TBC Corp. (Memphis, Tenn.) for total cash consideration of approximately $260 million.

The cash consideration includes $35 million for assets TBC is acquiring as part of the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2003, subject to customary regulatory review and closing conditions.

Sears said it expects to recognize a pretax gain in the range of $50 million to $100 million, which will be finalized upon closing. Proceeds from the transaction are intended to be used for general corporate purposes.

“This transaction is a further refinement of Sears' focus on our core business strategy,” said Sears chairman and ceo Alan Lacy. “We believe this sale is in the best interests of Sears and its customers. National Tire & Battery will benefit from being a part of the broader 900-store TBC network.”

TBC is one of the nation's largest private-brand tire distributors, selling tires to a network of distribution centers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It also sells and services tires through its Big O Tires subsidiary, which operates through about 550 Big O stores, mostly franchised, in about 20 primarily Western states and Canada. TBC sells its tires under the Big O, Cordovan, Grand Spirit, Multi-Mile, Power King, Sigma, Turbo-Tech and Vanderbilt brand names, among others.

Sears said that upon completion of the transaction, substantially all of the approximately 3500 employee at NTB's 226 locations will become employees of TBC.