First Brands Group bankruptcy :-(

[hatzie]

First Brands Group announced on January 26, 2026, that it has commenced the wind down of its North American operations for Autolite, Brake Parts Inc., and Cardone brands. This decision follows the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in late September 2025, driven by heavy debt from rapid acquisitions and deteriorating finances. Despite efforts to secure funding and sell the units, no viable solution was found.

Remaining operations: Other North American units (including filters, wipers, pumps, lighting, towing, and accessories) and all Rest of World (ROW) operations continue to run while the company seeks buyers.

Leadership statement: Interim CEO Charles Moore stated that all available options were explored, but the efforts did not result in a solution to maintain these operations.

Next steps:
First Brands is pursuing strategic sale transactions for the affected brands, with ongoing dialogue with key customers and stakeholders.

The company is also managing claims from creditors, including Marelli ($200M), FedEx ($5.4M), and the IRS ($4.7M).

This wind down marks a significant shift in the automotive aftermarket, impacting well-known brands such as Autolite (spark plugs), Cardone (remanufactured parts), and Brake Parts Inc. (Raybestos, Aimco, BrakePro).

[Dead Parrot]

An Wall Street Journal article in the Jan 29th issue mentions that Ford, GM and Harley-Davidson are providing very short term financing. At best a week to week thing.

An OP-ED in the Jan 30 WSJ mentions DOJ charges against founder Patrick Jones while mentioning possible fraud around invoicing.

Appears to be much more then then normal lack of business bankruptcy.

[hatzie]

Vulture capitalists play along a fine line between ethically questionable actions like factoring receivables to raid the business accounts and just screwing up the business while they're recouping their investment cuz they misunderstand how the business works and outright fraud like taking on debt that they don't really intend to pay back.

Raybestos and BrakePro will hurt more than a bit. They manufacture some store brands as well as their own product lines. The lack of competition and supply will drive up prices.

I like Raybestos rotors, drums, shoes, pads, and hardware kits. If the name is purchased likely it'll be a Chinese business trading on the name recognition while employing child labor and using sub-par materials.

Federal Mogul owns Wagner so there's still one USA manufacturer.