Icahn Prevails in Bid for Pep Boys as Bridgestone Bows Out

Bridgestone Corp. says it won’t counter a $1 billion-plus bid from investor Carl Icahn to acquire auto parts and service chain Pep Boys.

Icahn Enterprises LP’s offer at $17 per share trumped Bridgestone’s $16.50 bid from last week and ended a two-month-long bidding war between the two companies. Pep Boys’ stock price has nearly double over the past 12 months and closed on Tuesday at $18.95 per share.

Icahn already owns 12% of the Philadelphia-based chain, which he intends to merge with the Auto Plus aftermarket retail network he acquired earlier this year. Pep Boys operates more than 800 outlets in 35 states. Auto Plus operates a network of nearly 300 stories in the U.S.