Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack, an auto parts retailer, said it was considering putting itself up for sale, as it embarks on a strategic review barely two weeks after it named a new chief executive.
Pep Boys’ (PBY) shares hit a one-year high of $12.60 in early trading on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia-based chain named ex-Hertz Executive Scott Sider as its new CEO earlier this month.
The company said it had hired Rothschild Inc to assist with the review, which follows “various inquiries that have been previously received from third parties expressing an interest in a potential transaction.”
Private equity firm Golden Gate Capital and other suitors had expressed interest in buying Pep Boys, The Wall Street Journal reported in May, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Philadelphia-based company named former Hertz Global Holdings Inc executive Scott Sider as CEO on June 15 after Mike Odell resigned in September.
Pep Boys, which began operations in 1921 when its founders pooled in $800 to open the first store, avoided a proxy war with top investor Gamco Asset Management earlier this month by nominating three directors backed by the Mario Gabelli-led group.
Pep Boys, which competes with AutoZone Inc and Advance Auto Parts Inc, had a market capitalization of about $655 million as of Monday, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Up to Monday’s close of $12.16, Pep Boys’ shares had risen about 24 percent this year.
