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Heafner Tire Group Adds American Tire Distributors

7 July 2000

Heafner Tire Group Adds American Tire Distributors

    Charlotte, NC - Heafner Tire Group, Inc. today announced that it had entered into an agreement with Merchants, Inc. for the acquisition of Merchant's wholesale operations, American Tire Distributors. The agreement covers ATD's nine warehouses in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

    "I am extremely excited about this combination," said Donald C. Roof, President and CEO of Heafner. "Together with the T.O. Haas merger which was completed in May, Heafner has been able to establish platform distribution operations in the two areas of the country we were not servicing previously. These two transactions greatly expand our service geography and the capabilities we bring to the independent tire dealers in this country".

    Mr. Roof continued, "An additional benefit of the ATD transaction is that Jim Matthews has agreed to continue with Heafner Tire Group in an executive management role. This means that two of the most respected tire distribution industry leaders, Jim Matthews and Randy Haas, have joined the Heafner team during the past two months. In addition to Jim's experience heading both Merchant's and ITCO Tire during his career, he was instrumental in the development of the American Car Care Centers (ACCC) program. We anticipate that Jim will be a great assistance as Heafner introduces its affiliated dealer program, AutoEdge later this year."

    Following the merger, Jim Matthews will serve as President of Heafner Tire Group - ATD Division, as well as serving on the executive committee of Heafner. ATD will operate as a separate division of Heafner Tire Group through which Heafner will continue to expand and consolidate the industry in the northern part of the United States. The ATD transaction, which is subject to completion of financing and other items, is expected to close within 20 days. Other terms of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time.

    Heafner Tire Group is the country's largest independent marketer of tires and tire-related products. The Company distribution activities are conducted on a national basis through almost 70 warehouses in four divisions servicing 35 states. It also operates 240 retail tire and auto service stores in California, Nebraska, Arizona, and Kansas. Heafner had total revenues in 1999 in excess of $1 billion.