Auto Parts Seller CSK Plans Stock Offering

CSK Automotive Corp., which operates Checker Auto Parts, Schuck’s Auto Supply and Kragen Auto Parts stores in the Western U.S., plans an initial public offering to repay debt and fund growth. In a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Phoenix-based company estimated the IPO could raise as much as $172.5 million in gross proceeds. The filing does not specify the number of shares to be sold, the per-share price or the stake new investors would hold after the offering. Future filings will contain those details. As of Dec. 15, CSK operated 695 stores in 12 states, including 82 in Los Angeles that the company recently acquired from Dart Group Corp.’s Trak Auto Corp. unit for about $35.6 million. CSK focuses mainly on the do-it-yourself customer, but it has begun to bolster its commercial accounts, according to the filing.