Pomona, Calif., Sept. 1, 1998 (PRIMEZONE) -- Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KEYS) announced today that it has completed the previously announced sale of Republic Automotive Parts, Inc.'s automotive aftermarket mechanical parts operations located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania to General Parts, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina.
In addition, Keystone announced that in a separate sale, it had divested Republic's mechanical parts distribution operations located in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan to Automotive Parts Headquarters, Inc. of Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Charles J. Hogarty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Keystone, said, "We are pleased to have concluded these transactions, which represent a divestiture of substantially all the remaining mechanical parts distribution operations of Republic. Keystone intends to use the substantial cash proceeds of the sales to finance the acquisitions of additional collision replacement parts operations, which is Keystone's core business."
In the aggregate, the mechanical parts operations sold yesterday, which were acquired as part of Keystone's recent acquisition of Republic, included nine warehouse distribution centers and 88 stores with revenues of approximately $110 million for the year ended December 31, 1997. With the completion of these two transactions, all that remains of the Republic mechanical parts operations is a distribution center in Denver, Colorado.
Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. distributes aftermarket collision replacement parts primarily to collision repair shops through its 104 service centers, of which 21 serve as regional hubs, located through most of the United States. Its product lines are automotive body parts, bumpers, autoglass and remanufactured alloy wheels, as well as paint and other materials used in repairing a damaged vehicle. These products comprise more than 19,000 stock keeping units that are sold to more than 24,000 repair shops.