Belle Tire, the century-old tire chain rooted in metro Detroit and now based in Southfield, is getting a new corporate owner. The company, which has roughly 185 stores across Michigan and the broader Midwest, said this week it will be acquired by Big Brand Tire & Service, a national operator backed by private equity firm Percheron Capital. The deal, announced July 16, folds the family-founded retailer into a much larger platform and will push Big Brand’s combined revenue past $1.5 billion.
Big Brand formally rolled out the news in a company press release, with both sides keeping the price tag under wraps and saying they expect the acquisition to close later this quarter. Modern Tire Dealer reports that Belle Tire’s roughly 185 locations across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois will be added to Big Brand’s growing network. The original announcement and full company statement also went out via the companies’ July 16 release, carried in full by The Auto Channel.
What the Companies Said
Publicly, both sides are pitching the deal as growth without losing the soul of the brand. Big Brand highlighted plans to invest in people and technology, while Belle Tire’s leadership stressed continuity for customers and employees.
“We are excited to welcome them to the Big Brand family,” Big Brand CEO Joe Buscaglia said in the company release. Belle Tire President Don Barnes III called it an extraordinary moment for Belle Tire, and framed the move as a way to scale up while holding onto the chain’s customer-first culture, according to the same statement, also carried by The Auto Channel.
Private Equity and Consolidation
The acquisition fits neatly into a broader pattern: private equity money is rapidly reshaping the aftermarket service and tire retail business, with regional brands getting scooped up into national platforms. Percheron Capital, which began its partnership with Big Brand in 2021, completed a $1.625 billion recapitalization in October 2025 and has been using that capital, plus in-house AI tools, to speed up both acquisitions and organic expansion at Big Brand, according to the firm. Percheron Capital also notes that the Belle Tire deal ranks among Big Brand’s largest acquisitions by store count.
What Detroit-Area Customers and Workers Can Expect
Belle Tire’s story is tightly woven into Detroit’s own automotive identity. The company dates back to 1922, when it launched in the city of Detroit, and later shifted its corporate operations to Southfield while keeping a deep footprint across Michigan. Wikipedia profiles detail the chain’s long regional presence, and Belle Tire’s own store listings still identify Southfield as its corporate base.
For now, leadership is signaling stability at the store level. Local coverage notes that Big Brand did not respond to some follow-up questions from Detroit media after the deal was announced. Belle Tire, meanwhile, has been positioning the sale as a values-aligned partnership that will keep its frontline teams in place, according to the Detroit Free Press.
On the financial side, Evercore and Jefferies served as advisors on the transaction. The companies say the sale is subject to customary closing conditions before it officially wraps up, according to StreetInsider. Once the ink dries, customers, competitors and a lot of Detroit-area drivers will be watching closely to see how the new ownership balances national scale with a hometown name.
