Blackstone Drives into Auto Repair with Retail Stake

NEW YORK CITY—The Blackstone Group said Wednesday it would acquire a majority stake in Service King Collision Repair Centers, among the nation’s largest independent chains of auto body repair centers, from the Carlyle Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed; citing a source familiar with the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal was valued at $650 million.

Carlyle, along with its co-investors and the management and employees of Service King, will retain a significant minority stake in the Dallas-based company. Carlyle entered the picture in August 2012 with equity from the $1.1-billion Carlyle US Equity Opportunity Fund and the $700-million Carlyle Strategic Partners Fund III L.P.