On December 5, 2014, an affiliate of Palladium Equity Partners, LLC made a significant investment in Raben Tire Company, together with its affiliate Nebar investments, LLC, (“Raben” or the “Company), in partnership with the Raben family.

About Raben Tire Company

Raben, based in Evansville, IN, is a Midwest independent tire dealer and automotive service provider offering a broad assortment of name brand tires, expert advice and reliable automotive service. Founded in 1952 by Butch Raben, Raben has grown from a single location in Evansville, IN to 25 stores, two wholesale distribution centers, and three retreading facilities across Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois,

Missouri, and Arkansas. The Company supplies a wide range of tires, including passenger, motorcycle, farm, OTR, and truck tires, to retail, wholesale, and commercial customers, including trucking fleets, mining companies and agricultural and industrial businesses. Raben also offers a range of complementary, high-margin automotive services for passenger vehicles and light trucks, including oil change services, brakes, batteries, and other repair and maintenance services.

About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC

Palladium Equity Partners, LLC (“Palladium”), along with its affiliates, is a New York based middle market private equity firm with over $2.5 billion in assets under management. In April 2014, Palladium announced the final closing of Palladium Equity Partners IV, L.P. at $1.14 billion, significantly exceeding its target. Palladium seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams, and focuses primarily on buyout equity investments in the range of $50 million to $150 million. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $1 billion of capital in more than 20 platform investments and over 50 add-on acquisitions.

Transaction Role

Duff & Phelps served as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Raben and provided M&A advisory services in connection with the sale transaction.