Links Car Wash to acquire Woodie's Wash Shack

• Back Nine Equity (parent company of Links Car Wash) entered into a definitive agreement in July 2026 to acquire the operating platform of Woodie’s Wash Shack, combining their regional footprints into a 50-site express car wash operator across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
• The combined operating company will reflag its footprint under the popular Woodie’s Wash Shack consumer brand, while founder Donald E. Phillips retains ownership and stewardship of the underlying trademarks, trade dress, and creative identity through a newly formed brand management entity.
• Links founder Ryan Hanks will lead the combined operating business, utilizing Back Nine Equity's institutional capital to accelerate density across Tampa Bay and adjacent Sunbelt markets through a mix of M&A and greenfield development.

This deal underscores the ongoing private equity consolidation within the fragmented express car wash industry, where building regional scale is critical to maximizing site-level unit economics and expanding high-margin subscription membership revenue. By combining Links' operational backbone with Woodie’s distinct surf-themed consumer brand, the merged platform establishes immediate high-density coverage across high-growth Sunbelt markets. Crucially, the transaction's structural separation of physical operations from brand IP offers a novel blueprint for sponsors seeking to scale platform operations rapidly without diluting localized brand equity.