American Tire Distributors, Inc. is the largest independent replacement tire distributor in North America, operating 115+ distribution centers across 47 U.S. states and Canada serving 80,000+ customers with ~4,500 employees. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection on October 23, 2024 in the District of Delaware (Case No. 24-12391) before Judge Craig T. Goldblatt after experiencing post-2020 demand shifts, increased competition, pricing pressure, rising operating costs, leadership transitions, and the termination of a non-binding letter of intent. At filing, American Tire carried approximately $1.91 billion in funded debt (ABL facility $810.2M, term loan $1,006.3M) and only ~$30 million in cash. The company obtained a mega DIP facility of $2.323 billion ($1.2B ABL + $1.123B term loan with $250M new money) from an ad hoc group of prepetition lenders (Guggenheim, KKR, Monarch, Sculptor, Silver Point). A non-ratable term loan roll-up structure initially triggered litigation, but Judge Goldblatt found the structure violated the prepetition credit agreement, and the lender group removed the provision and proceeded with a modified DIP approved November 22, 2024. Substantially all assets were sold to Asphalt Buyer LLC via credit bid on February 11, 2025 (closing March 5, 2025), with the remaining estate proceeding under a confirmed wind-down plan effective May 30, 2025. Estimated unsecured claims of ~$528M-$611M are expected to receive no material distributions.
