Bright Lights, Big Wheels: Atlantic Street Expands All Star

Specialty distributor All Star Auto Lights, a portfolio company of Atlantic Street Capital, has acquired Blackburn OEM Wheel Solutions. Atlantic Street acquired All Star Auto Lights in September 2019.

Blackburn is a supplier of new and refurbished OEM steel and alloy wheels, center caps, and wheel covers to the automotive aftermarket. Customers of the company include body shops, wheel distributors, tire centers, wheel repair companies, automotive service facilities, auto dismantlers, rental car agencies, automotive dealerships, insurance companies, fleet management organizations, and the retail public.

The company was founded in 1978 by Jim Blackburn, Sr. as Blackburn’s Hubcap and Wheels and is now the largest privately held provider of original equipment replacement wheel products in the United States. Blackburn has a 150,000-square-foot warehouse and headquarters facility near Cleveland in Macedonia, Ohio.

All Star’s products include recycled and refurbished OEM parts and certified aftermarket products, including headlamps, tail lamps, park lamps, fog lamps, side view mirrors, wheels, wheel covers and center caps for both foreign and domestic vehicles. All Star’s customers include independent auto body shops and multi-site operators of collision repair centers. Orlando-headquartered All Star was founded in 2004 by Mark Immerfall and operates 13 facilities nationwide.

The acquisition of Blackburn is All Star’s third acquisition in the aftermarket OEM wheel sector and transforms All Star from just a traditional auto lights business into a general automotive aftermarket equipment supplier. In September 2021, All Star formed a wheels division as part of its acquisition of Tennessee-based Jante Wheel and Indiana-based Perfection Wheel.

“The buy of Blackburn significantly increases our capacity to manufacture and supply OEM wheels through our growing nationwide network,” said Matt Immerfall, the chief executive officer of All Star and the son of the company’s founder. “Combined with our existing family of brands acquired in 2021, Jante Wheel and Perfection Wheel, the addition of Blackburn quickly doubles our impact in the automotive wheels sector and offers our customers a more comprehensive selection and faster delivery while solidifying All Star’s wheel division to better serve its customer base.”

“It’s exciting for the All Star Team to round out our newly formed wheel division with Blackburn. Our ability to partner manufacturing and supply to take care of our customers on a national level is an incredible opportunity that we are thrilled about,” added Mr. Immerfall.

“We are excited to add Blackburn to All Star’s family of brands,” said Phil Druce, a partner at Atlantic Street Capital. “With 13 sites and over 400 employees, All Star is positioned as a national player with collision and body shops, tire and service centers, rental car, and auction house customers to profitably repair cars faster with the highest value OEM alternative replacement parts.”

Atlantic Street invests from $15 million to $75 million in companies with EBITDA from $4 million to $25 million. The firm invests across a range of sectors but has a specific interest in healthcare, multi-unit retail, business services, and consumer products and services. The firm closed its fourth fund, Atlantic Street Capital IV LP, with $500 million of committed capital in September 2019. Atlantic Street was founded in September 2006 by Peter Shabecoff and is based in Stamford, Connecticut with an additional office in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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