Kingswood Capital Management announced that it has completed an investment in Turbo Wholesale Tires. Kingswood says it is partnering with Sarkis Sepetjian and the Sepetjian family, who are retaining significant ownership in the company and joining Kingswood on the board of directors. Veteran tire executives, Phillip Kane and Larry Jeffries have been appointed leadership roles at the company and will serve as chief executive officer and president, respectively.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Sarkis and the Sepetjian family, who have done an excellent job growing Turbo’s business over the last decade and building an impressive portfolio of brands, including the company’s proprietary Lexani, Lionheart and RBP-owned brands,” said Michael Niegsch, partner of Kingswood. “The investment of growth capital and the additions of Phillip Kane and Larry Jeffries to the Turbo management team position the company well to pursue accelerated growth and offer customers additional products and services.”
“The Turbo transaction represents another example of Kingswood’s expertise in partnering with family and owner-operated businesses,” said Alex Wolf, managing partner of Kingswood. “The success we and our partners have had in these situations is an important part of Kingswood’s strategy. We are excited about investing in and supporting Turbo’s continued growth and look forward to our partnership with Sarkis and the Sepetjian family.”
Kane, a Tire Review contributor, is a tire industry veteran with 12 years working in positions of increasing importance for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, assuming the role of vice president of Goodyear’s North American commercial tire business in 2012. Throughout his career, Kane has served in executive roles with Pirelli, Genuine Parts Company, and Snap-On Business Solutions. In 2018, he began consulting with various companies serving the automotive industry. Most recently, he served as senior advisor for Stout, an independent advisory firm, and Rothschild & Co., a global financial advisory group.
Jeffries has more than two decades of experience in the tire industry, serving in roles of increasing importance with Bridgestone Americas in its commercial sector until being named COO of its GCR organization in 2015. He served as CEO of Tredroc Tire Service from 2018 to 2022, when the business was acquired by Pomp’s Tire Service.
