Bridgestone hikes offer for Pep Boys

Japan's Bridgestone Corp. on Friday raised its offer for U.S. auto parts retailer Pep Boys -- Manny, Moe & Jack by 50 cents a share to $15.50 per share.

The new offer by Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone, raises the deal value by $28 million to $863 million for Pep Boys, the companies said in a Friday statement.

The new offer comes after Pep Boys said last Wednesday that it planned to terminate its deal with Bridgestone as its board considered Carl Icahn's offer as a "superior proposal."

Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises LP had offered to buy Pep Boys for $15.50 per share.

There was no response from Icahn today. Pep Boys shares fell 1 percent to close today at $16.21 a share. 

Bridgestone was given three days on Dec. 8 by Pep Boys to make a new offer.

Pep Boys said on Friday that its board no longer deems Icahn's offer as superior, and recommended that Pep Boys shareholders accept Bridgestone's offer.

The Icahn deal would have combined Pep Boys’ retail business with Auto Plus, an aftermarket parts supplier he acquired this year from Canada’s Uni-Select Inc. for about $340 million. The company aims to be one of the largest automotive aftermarket companies in the U.S. in the next five years, according to its website.

Bridgestone plans to use Pep Boys to push deeper into the U.S. and create the world’s largest chain of tire and automotive centers.

J.P. Morgan Securities was the financial adviser to Bridgestone, while Rothschild advised Pep Boys.

Jones Day is Bridgestone's legal adviser, while Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is Pep Boys' legal adviser.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report.