Wheel Pros acquires Transamerican Auto Parts

Transamerican Auto Parts (TAP) of Compton, California, and its brands have been acquired by Wheel Pros of Greenwood Village, Colorado. The sale price—net of cash, debt, and other costs—is estimated at $50 million. TAP, open since 1961, is best known in the off-road space for the 4 Wheel Parts Performance Center stores and extensive catalog of parts. TAP also owns Smittybilt, Pro Comp, 4 Wheel Drive Hardware, G2 Axle and Gear, Rubicon Express, Poison Spyder, and more, making them one of the largest companies in the off-road aftermarket space. Wheel Pros was founded in 1994 with the objective of distributing aftermarket wheels, including American Racing, KMC, Fuel, American Force, Black Rhino as well as Gorilla Automotive Products and Ready Lift suspension. This acquisition from Wheel Pros is backed by Clear Lake Capital Group, an investment firm founded in 2006, operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit, and other related strategies from their headquarters in Santa Monica, California.

Wheel Pros also recently acquired Teraflex, a renowned Jeep accessory and suspension manufacturer in April 2022 and continues its growth with this vast acquisition. TAP and its brands were acquired by Polaris, a company known for its side-by-sides and ATVs back in October 2016, and Polaris reports the sale will: "Position[s} us to capitalize on growing consumer interest and demand for our powersports offerings, while enabling Polaris to focus our time, people and resources on our core on-road, off-road and marine businesses, along with the parts, garments, and accessories brands that support those customers."

"We are thrilled to combine with TAP and build a vertically integrated omnichannel platform for aftermarket automotive enhancements across a wide range of vehicles," said Randy White, Co-Founder and CEO, and Brian Henderson, Chief Strategy Officer, at Wheel Pros in a joint statement. "TAP's extensive product portfolio, proprietary brands, manufacturing capabilities, and omnichannel platform have resulted in an automotive and off-roading enthusiast following that we have long admired. We look forward to working with the TAP team as we undertake new initiatives to accelerate the growth of the combined business and continue to drive value for our customers, suppliers, and partners."

Our take at Four Wheeler is that this is a good move for Wheel Pros and TAP as the two brands are more aligned with each other than Polaris is to TAP.

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In episode 1 of the new video series 4x4 Garage , host Christian Hazel tears down the suspension of a 1988 Ford Bronco for a 6-inch Superlift system and dives into the axles to prep them for new 4.88 gears and Eaton TrueTrac differentials to support the 37x12.50R17 Falken A/T3W all-terrain tires for awesome performance. Want to see more? Subscribe to the MotorTrend YouTube channel!