Billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s company is selling Pep Boys, the Philadelphia-founded auto service chain, to private equity-backed Mavis Tire Express Services for $700 million in cash, the parties said Tuesday.
Icahn’s publicly-traded company, Icahn Enterprises LP, will keep owned real estate as well as Montgomery County-based Aamco Transmissions and Precision Tune Auto Care businesses.
Founded more than a century ago by Navy veterans Emanuel Rosenfeld, Maurice L. Strauss, W. Graham “Jack” Jackson, and Moe Radavitz, Pep Boys started with a store at 63rd and Market Streets in Philadelphia’s Overbrook section. It now offers repair and maintenance services at more than 750 locations across the country.
The founders became immortalized in the company’s branding, with a logo that included the cartoon faces of Manny, Moe and Jack.
“For more than 100 years, Pep Boys has earned the trust of drivers across the country by delivering quality service with honesty and care,” Pep Boys CEO Joe Auriemma said in a statement. “Mavis shares these values and, as part of the Mavis family, Pep Boys will have the scale, footprint, and operational and technological strength to continue building on its legacy as it enters a new chapter of growth.”
A spokesperson for White Plains, N.Y.-based Mavis would not immediately confirm on the record whether it would continue to use the Pep Boys brand.
The deal expands Mavis’ footprint to more than 4,400 service locations. David Sorbaro, co-chief executive officer of Mavis, said in a statement that Pep Boys “brings a loyal customer base, deep-rooted market presence across the United States, and a distribution network that will meaningfully enhance our supply chain nationwide.”
The acquisition comes a decade after Icahn won Pep Boys in a bidding war with Japan-based tire giant Bridgestone for $1 billion. Around the same time, Icahn also bought the smaller Auto Plus chain, based in Kennesaw, Ga.
That bet did not go as planned. Auto Plus filed for bankruptcy in 2023, with Icahn citing “lessened demand, supply chain disruptions, an inflationary environment and the effects of COVID-19.”
Under Icahn’s ownership, Pep Boys closed retail auto parts stores as it focused on repairs and tire sales.
Icahn Enterprises’ auto segment reported a 3% decline in revenue in 2025 over the prior year, for a total of $1.4 billion, according to a securities filing. Icahn’s company cited “the strategic closure of underperforming locations.”
Icahn Enterprises has also pointed to reduced consumer spending on auto repairs and maintenance.
Around 2020 Icahn sold Pep Boys’ longtime headquarters on Allegheny Avenue in North Philly — which had been home to 500 employees — but leased back some space. Pep Boys no longer occupies the building, a spokesperson said.
The company is now based in Bala Cynwyd. Pep Boys spokesperson Amanda Crisafulli declined to say how many jobs are based there. She also declined to say how many employees work for the company in total.
A Mavis spokesperson declined to specify whether the company will keep Pep Boys’ Bala Cynwyd office.
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