Japan's Bridgestone buying pep boys for $835m

Japan's Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest tire maker and car service company is buying automobile parts and repair company Pep Boys for $US835 million in a deal that will help Bridgestone gain a more dominant position in the United States.

The deal is expected to close in the beginning of 2016 and will add 800 locations to Bridgestone's nationwide network of 2200 tire and automotive service centers.

Pep Boys was started in 1921 by four Navy veterans who pooled $800 to open a store in Philadelphia. The chain, which now spans 35 states and Puerto Rico, sells tires and maintenance, as well as components that customers can pick up off the shelf.