Report: Les Schwab, a fifth-generation family owned PNW empire, is for sale

BEND, Ore. -- Les Schwab, an expansive and familiar family business with hundreds of tire centers in 10 states, is up for sale, according to a report from The Oregonian.

The news website reports that the privately held company has hired Goldman Sachs to find a potential buyer.

Bloomberg estimates the company, started in 1952 by Les Schwab, could be worth roughly $3 billion.

“Given the complexities of a fifth-generation family business, and managing a company of our size, we are at an important point in the life of Les Schwab Tire Centers," the family shareholders said in a statement. “As our family grows and ages, it is increasingly critical to us that ownership remain committed and aligned behind our grandfather’s vision.”

From the report:

Les Schwab is one of the largest employers in central Oregon, and its sale could throw its large regional workforce — split between white-collar jobs at the company’s Bend headquarters and blue-collar ones at its warehousing and manufacturing operations in Prineville — into doubt.


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