Midas (Auto Service Chain)

Midas founder Nate H. Sherman ran a family business in Chicago that made car mufflers in the early 1950s, serving as president of International Parts Corporation. Judging that corner independent service stations would no longer be able to meet fast-growing demand for car repairs, he decided to build a franchise network supported by a central company that would sell his mufflers directly to consumers.⁠[1][1][1][1]

In 1956 Sherman formed the Muffler Installation Dealers’ Association (M.I.D.A.S.) and persuaded his long-time friend Hugh Landrum to open the first Midas Muffler franchise shop in Macon, Georgia. Sherman guaranteed to replace any muffler his shops had installed on a domestic car for as long as the motorist owned it. By the end of 1957 there were 100 independently operated Midas Muffler franchise shops in 40 states. From 1956 to 1959 Midas focused exclusively on replacing exhaust systems.⁠[1][1][1][2]

Responding to widespread consumer worries about being overcharged or sold unnecessary repairs, Sherman told shop owners to invite motorists into the service bays to learn about their cars, to give each customer an itemized written estimate before work began, and to install large windows so customers could watch their cars being repaired.⁠[1][1][1][1]

By 1960 there were 319 Midas Muffler shops, and that year the company began offering shock absorber service. In 1968 it bought Huth Manufacturing Corporation, which made made-to-order bender machines that automated cutting and welding exhaust tubing, and the same year opened its first overseas “Silencer” shop in Harlesden, in northwest London. By 1970 there were 577 Midas Muffler shops in the United States, England and Canada.⁠[1][1][1][1]

In 1972 Midas International was acquired by IC Industries, which later renamed itself Whitman Corporation; Midas operated as a wholly owned subsidiary in its consumer products division until 1998. In 1974 Midas opened the Midas Institute of Technology in Palatine, Illinois, to train new franchisees, managers and mechanics.⁠[1][1][2][1]

In 1978 Midas opened its 1,000th shop in the United States and extended its muffler guarantee to foreign cars; in 1979 it announced brake service in all its shops. By 1980 there were 1,350 Midas Muffler and Brake shops, with franchises in Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Mexico and Puerto Rico.⁠[1][1]

Midas made its 50 millionth muffler in 1983 and expanded its factories in Bedford Park, Illinois, and Hartford, Wisconsin. Revenue reached a record $298 million in 1984, up 10% from the previous year, and 74 new shops opened in the United States that year; in the exhaust replacement market Midas had about 12% of outlets but about 25% of the business. By 1985 Midas had more than 1,400 franchised shops in the United States and more than 400 abroad, three times the size of its closest competitor.⁠[1][1][1][1][1]

In 1986 Midas opened its 2,000th shop and a New England training center in Taunton, Massachusetts. It added wheel alignment nationally from 1988, made its 100 millionth muffler in 1989, and introduced computerized suspension and alignment services in all its shops.⁠[1][1][2][1]

In the early 1990s Whitman began buying muffler shops in Europe for Midas to operate and ran a major advertising campaign in the United States. In 1992 sales and services by Midas shops accounted for 20% of Whitman’s total sales, and in 1993 Midas’s U.S. retail sales exceeded $1 billion. That year Midas signed a franchise contract with Interamericana de Talleras and began opening shops in Mexico’s major cities, with a goal of more than 140 shops.⁠[1][1][1][1]

After automakers switched to stainless steel exhaust systems in the mid-1980s, the average life of original exhaust systems grew from three years to more than 10, and from the mid-1990s Midas’s core exhaust replacement business declined steadily; as late as 1997, exhaust replacement still made up 35% of its North American shop retail revenue. Meanwhile competition intensified from full-service auto centers such as Pep BoysPep BoysPep Boys (full name The Pep Boys—Manny, Moe & Jack) is an American chain of automotive repair, maintenance and tire service centers, founded in 1921 by four Philadelphians who had served together in the U.S. Navy during World War I, and long listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It was acquired by Icahn Enterprises in February 2016 and sold to Mavis Tire Express Services for about $700 million in cash on August 20, 2026, when it had nearly 800 locations in the United States and Puerto Rico.Open the full entry, and consumers widely saw Midas as only a muffler shop. In 1996 Midas launched a $23 million advertising campaign promoting other services such as alignment and suspension, while relations between franchisees and the parent company were deteriorating and sales and store growth were stagnating.⁠[2][2][1][1][1][1]

On January 30, 1998, Whitman distributed all shares of Midas, Inc. to its shareholders, making Midas an independent public company whose stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MDS. New chief executive Wendel Province sold company-owned shops that competed directly with franchisees and used the proceeds to give each franchisee $15,000 per shop for new signs and paint for the “New Midas” campaign; the company also moved its headquarters from downtown Chicago to Itasca, Illinois, and closed a factory. The exhaust market shrank by 20% in 1999.⁠[2][2][1][1][1][1]

From 1999 the Midas system began broadening its service menu to transform itself from an under-car specialist into a full-service automotive repair and maintenance provider; in 2000 it implemented the “New Midas” strategy, adding services such as climate control and maintenance, completing the refurbishment of North American shops, and launching Parts Warehouse, a network delivering parts to Midas shops and other customers. In 2001 the company bought back 98 Midas locations in the United States to strengthen its company-operated business, but it lost $33.6 million in 2002, after which Province announced his retirement.⁠[2][2][1][1][1]

In January 2003 Alan D. Feldman, formerly president and chief operating officer of McDonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’s is a publicly traded restaurant company headquartered in Chicago, known for hamburgers, fries, drive-thrus and its franchise network. Its origins lie in the restaurant opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940; Ray Kroc expanded franchising from 1955. It operates across more than 100 countries, with the great majority of restaurants run by independent operators.Open the full entry Americas and president of McDonald’s USA, became president and chief executive of Midas, adding the chairmanship in May 2006. The company then planned to exit the wholesale distribution business and sell many of its company-operated shops.⁠[2][2][1]

Until March 2008 Midas auto repair centers were the company’s only franchise concept. In April 2008 it acquired the SpeeDee Oil Change and Tune-up franchise system and thereafter sold Midas, SpeeDee and Midas-SpeeDee co-branded franchises.⁠[2]

On August 11, 2011, Midas announced that its board had retained J.P. Morgan Securities to help evaluate strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including a sale or merger. As of December 31, 2011, Midas had 1,484 franchised and company-operated shops in North America, covering all 50 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces, plus 775 licensed shops in 12 other countries; including SpeeDee, there were 2,420 shops worldwide. The company had about 765 employees, 557 of them in company-operated shops, and royalty revenues and license fees of $54.2 million in fiscal 2011.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2][2]

On March 12, 2012, Midas signed a merger agreement with TBC Corporation, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of America, under which a TBC subsidiary would make a cash tender offer at $11.50 per share; the Midas board approved it unanimously, and the offer began on March 28.⁠[3][3][3][4]

The tender offer expired at the end of April 24, 2012; on April 30 the buyer exercised its top-up option and completed the merger, making Midas a wholly owned subsidiary of TBC, with untendered shares converted into the right to receive $11.50 in cash. The New York Stock Exchange filed to delist the stock that day, and trading was suspended from the opening on May 1.⁠[4][4][4][4]

On March 31, 2025, the Michelin Group announced that TBC Corporation, the U.S. tire wholesale joint venture between Michelin and Sumitomo, had agreed to sell its Midas franchise portfolio to Mavis Tire Express Services. Michelin said TBC regarded tire wholesale, distribution and Big O Tires as its core businesses, whereas Midas relied mostly on retail automotive services; the deal would let TBC focus on its core businesses and was expected to have a positive impact of about $200 million on Michelin Group’s 2025 net result.⁠[5][5][6][5][5]

A Mavis spokesman said the deal would not affect Midas franchisees, who would keep ownership of their stores; Midas would operate as a stand-alone brand and Lenny Valentino would remain its president. It was the second time in two years that TBC had sold a large number of retail stores to Mavis: in June 2023 TBC sold 595 NTB and Tire KingdomTire KingdomTire Kingdom is a tire and automotive repair and maintenance chain whose main market is Florida. Founded by Chuck Curcio in West Palm Beach in 1972, it was owned in turn by Michelin, an investor group led by Goldman Sachs and the tire wholesaler TBC Corporation, and in June 2023 it was sold to Mavis Tire Express Services together with the rest of TBC’s company-owned retail business.Open the full entry stores to Mavis.⁠[7][7][7][7]

On June 16, 2025, Mavis Tire Express Services announced that it had completed the purchase of Midas from TBC Corporation, without disclosing financial terms. Midas continues to operate as a standalone brand on the Mavis platform, with its headquarters remaining in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; with Midas, Mavis’s network grew to more than 3,500 locations in the United States and Canada, including nearly 1,300 franchised locations. David Sorbaro, co-chief executive of Mavis, said he looked forward to working with Midas’s team and franchisees to drive the next chapter of growth.⁠[8][8][8][8][8]

At the completion of the deal, Midas had about 2,000 franchised and licensed locations in nearly 20 countries, about 1,200 of them in the United States and Canada. TBC said it would focus on its core wholesale and distribution business and expand its Big O Tires franchise operations.⁠[8][9]

As of October 2026, Midas has about 1,200 locations in the United States and Canada, offering oil changes, brakes, tires, wheel alignment, steering and suspension, batteries, heating and air conditioning, and exhaust repair; parts carry a Limited Lifetime Guarantee (the Golden Guarantee), and tires a Tire Care Promise. Its shops use the Closer Look Vehicle Check, which sends customers a digital inspection report with photos and videos to their phones, and emphasize telling customers what needs fixing now and what can wait. 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of Midas’s founding.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10]

Midas: Official website: https://www.midas.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]

Midas Franchise: Official website: https://www.midasfranchise.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[11]

Mavis Tire Express Services: Official website: https://www.mavis.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]

X: Public account: https://x.com/midas (opens in a new window)⁠[12]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/midas-international/ (opens in a new window)⁠[11]