Genuine Parts Company recently announced it plans to separate the company into two independent, publicly traded companies, one comprising its Automotive Parts Group (“Global Automotive”) and the other comprising its Industrial Parts Group (“Global Industrial”).

The transaction is targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2027.

Genuine Parts Company is the paretn company of NAPA, which has 6,000 stores in the U.S.

“Genuine Parts Company has a proud history of evolving with our markets for nearly a century,” said Will Stengel, chair-elect and chief executive officer. “Over the past decade, we established leading global footprints in attractive geographies, simplified our business mix and accelerated strategic investments to advance and differentiate our business. Creating two focused, independent companies sharpens customer and market alignment, increases clarity and speed, simplifies operations and enables disciplined, business-specific investments to unlock long-term value.”

The business separation is the result of a comprehensive strategic and operational review of market opportunities, in-flight initiatives and business structure considerations across Global Automotive and Global Industrial, according to a statement from the company.

Pursuing the separation is expected to create two, scaled market leaders, better able to execute their respective strategies by:

• Creating dedicated platforms that improve operating clarity and execution speed at each company to deliver greater customer value and long-term shareholder returns
• Establishing separate management teams with tailored expertise, strategies and decision-making authority to better address customer needs
• Providing enhanced financial flexibility to enable strategic investments that accelerate profitable growth, improve productivity and extend market leadership positions
• Allowing each business to design capital structures and capital allocation strategies aligned with specific business objectives, while targeting investment-grade credit metrics at each company
• Enabling each business to attract a long-term investor base through a clear, compelling and differentiated investment profile

There are no changes to the GPC executive team. The company names, executive teams and Boards of Directors for Global Automotive and Global Industrial will be announced at a later date.