AutoZone, Inc.
Acquisitions
5
Major Deals Covered
$391M
Disclosed Deal Value
AutoZone's largest disclosed acquisition here is Chief Auto Parts for $280M in 1998. This page covers 5 major deals from 1996 to 2014, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALLDATA | 1996 | $56.0M | AutoZone acquired ALLDATA, an Elk Grove, California provider of automotive diagnostic and repair information, in a stock deal valued at about US$56 million, adding software used by professional repair shops to a parts-only business. |
| Auto Palace | 1998 | $55.0M | In January 1998 AutoZone agreed to buy 112 Auto Palace stores across six states for about US$55 million, adding density in the northeastern United States where it was thin. |
| Chief Auto Parts | 1998 | $280.0M | AutoZone acquired Chief Auto Parts for about US$280 million in cash and assumed debt, completing the deal on June 29, 1998. Chief ran more than 550 stores, close to 400 of them in California, where AutoZone was under-represented. |
| AutoAnything | 2012 | Undisclosed | AutoZone bought AutoAnything, a San Diego online retailer of aftermarket accessories, in December 2012 to widen its direct-to-consumer e-commerce range beyond what its stores stock. |
| Interamerican Motor Corporation | 2014 | Undisclosed | AutoZone acquired Interamerican Motor Corporation, a distributor of imported replacement parts, to improve its coverage of European and Asian vehicles for commercial customers. |
2014
AutoZone acquired Interamerican Motor Corporation, a distributor of imported replacement parts, to improve its coverage of European and Asian vehicles for commercial customers.
The business gave AutoZone access to import parts lines it did not carry.
AutoZone divested Interamerican Motor Corporation to Parts Authority in February 2018.
2012
AutoZone bought AutoAnything, a San Diego online retailer of aftermarket accessories, in December 2012 to widen its direct-to-consumer e-commerce range beyond what its stores stock.
The site operated as a separate e-commerce business rather than being folded into autozone.com.
AutoZone divested AutoAnything to Kingswood Capital in February 2018 and put its digital effort behind autozone.com and store fulfillment.
1998
$55M
In January 1998 AutoZone agreed to buy 112 Auto Palace stores across six states for about US$55 million, adding density in the northeastern United States where it was thin.
The deal was the first of four store acquisitions AutoZone closed during 1998, the most acquisitive year in its history.
The stores were converted to the AutoZone banner.
1998
$280M
AutoZone acquired Chief Auto Parts for about US$280 million in cash and assumed debt, completing the deal on June 29, 1998. Chief ran more than 550 stores, close to 400 of them in California, where AutoZone was under-represented.
The purchase gave AutoZone the leading share of the California market and pushed it to 2,657 stores in 38 states by August 29, 1998, operating under both the AutoZone and Chief names.
Chief stores were converted to the AutoZone banner over the following years.
1996
$56M
AutoZone acquired ALLDATA, an Elk Grove, California provider of automotive diagnostic and repair information, in a stock deal valued at about US$56 million, adding software used by professional repair shops to a parts-only business.
ALLDATA gave AutoZone a product it could sell to the same independent repair shops that buy its parts, at the point where they decide what a job needs.
AutoZone still sells the ALLDATA brand of diagnostic, repair, collision and shop management software through alldata.com. It does not disclose ALLDATA revenue separately.
With the U.S. store base mature, most domestic growth has to come from the professional market and from putting more inventory closer to customers. Domestic commercial sales grew 10.6 percent to US$5.76 billion in fiscal 2026, and the company added 345 commercial programs and 39 mega hubs during the year. Internationally, AutoZone opened 118 stores in Mexico and 20 in Brazil in fiscal 2026, passing its 1,000th Mexican store in the fourth quarter and finishing with 1,001 there and 167 in Brazil, supported by store support centers in Monterrey, Chihuahua and Sao Paulo and a larger new Monterrey distribution center.
AutoZone runs two connected businesses: DIY retail, where customers buy parts for their own vehicles, and DIFM (Do-It-For-Me) commercial sales to professional repair shops. Domestic commercial sales reached US$5.76 billion in fiscal 2026, up 10.6 percent, about 28 percent of total net sales of US$20.34 billion. Availability is the product: most stores stock 20,000 to 25,000 unique SKUs, hub stores 40,000 to 50,000 and mega hubs 80,000 to 110,000, with distribution centers replenishing stores up to multiple times a week. Exclusive in-house brands, including the Duralast family, Econocraft, ProElite, ShopPro, SureBilt, TotalPro, TruGrade and Valucraft, sit beside national brands in a good/better/best assortment and support a gross margin of 52.3 percent in fiscal 2026.
AutoZone acquired ALLDATA in 1996 in a stock deal valued at about US$56 million, adding the Elk Grove, California provider of automotive diagnostic and repair information used by professional repair shops.
AutoZone completed its roughly US$280 million purchase of Chief Auto Parts on June 29, 1998, in cash and assumed debt, adding more than 550 stores, close to 400 of them in California, which gave it the leading share of that market.
AutoZone bought 43 TruckPro heavy-duty commercial truck parts locations in May 1998 and ran them for three years before selling the division to Paratus Capital Management in December 2001, refocusing on passenger-car retail and commercial parts.
AutoZone acquired online aftermarket accessories retailer AutoAnything in December 2012 to expand its digital direct-to-consumer e-commerce footprint, later divesting the asset in 2018 to focus on core omnichannel store delivery.
AutoZone entered Mexico by opening a store in Nuevo Laredo in December 1998 and grew mainly by building stores, reaching 1,001 in Mexico at August 29, 2026, supported by store support centers in Monterrey and Chihuahua and a larger new Monterrey distribution center.
AutoZone entered Brazil in 2012 with a store in Sao Paulo and has grown there by opening stores, reaching 167 at August 29, 2026 after 20 openings in fiscal 2026, supported by a Sao Paulo store support center.
AutoZone prefers building its own stores and hubs to buying chains: it opened a record 374 stores and 39 mega hubs in fiscal 2026 and spent US$1.50 billion of capital, and its last store-chain acquisitions of any size were in 1998.
AutoZone sold the TruckPro division to Paratus Capital Management in December 2001, and in February 2018 divested both Interamerican Motor Corporation, to Parts Authority, and AutoAnything, to Kingswood Capital.
Rather than buying retail competitors, AutoZone famously acquired ALLDATA, giving them an absolute monopoly on selling massive digital databases of OEM repair manuals directly to mechanics.
Compare corporate acquisition records, deal values, and strategic targets
Explore AutoZone
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.