Direct ChassisLink, Inc., which was established in 2012 by its current owner Littlejohn & Co., has grown its equipment fleet to 120,000 marine chassis and 92,000 rail intermodal containers.
Direct ChassisLink, Inc. (DCLI), one of the “big three” providers of marine chassis in the United States, is being sold by its current owner Littlejohn & Co. to the private equity fund, EQT Infrastructure II.
Littlejohn, a private investment company, formed DCLI as an independent company in 2012 following the acquisition of 64,000 marine chassis and an operations team from Maersk Inc. DCLI has grown its equipment fleet, which now comprises 120,000 marine chassis and 92,000 rail intermodal containers. The company also acquired and integrated REZ-1, an asset management system, into the DCLI business.
The company is one of three large chassis providers in the U.S. TRAC Leasing is the largest with 197,616 marine chassis, 80,477 domestic chassis and 33,282 available for remanufacture at the end of 2015. Flexi-Van Leasing has over 130,000 chassis, according to its website. In addition, TRAC notes in its annual report that Consolidated Chassis Management controls 140,000 chassis in co-op pools across the U.S.
DCLI’s customers primarily consist of container shipping companies, railroads, motor carriers, beneficial cargo owners and other logistics companies that use DCLI’s chassis under long-term contracts. In total, DCLI serves about 3,300 customers across approximately 375 active rental locations. In addition, DCLI manages approximately 92,000 domestic containers owned by third parties through REZ-1.
“EQT Infrastructure funds have experience investing in the port sector in both Europe and North America,” Alex Darden, Partner at EQT Partners Inc. said. “We have continued to look for other angles through which to invest in the companies and assets that benefit from the underlying macroeconomic trends that are increasing demand for transportation infrastructure. DCLI’s chassis fleet plays an essential role in the shipping value chain as an indispensable link between ships, ports, rail, and the container’s final destination. We believe DCLI is well positioned to benefit from increasing container volumes and has the potential to transform into a stronger and more diversified intermodal platform.”
“We are excited to further grow the business with the support of EQT and their team of experienced industrial advisors,” DCLI CEO Bill Shea said. “Over the past four years, we have more than doubled the size of the business since we acquired it from Maersk, and we see significant growth potential in adjacent markets and through the REZ-1 platform.”
EQT said the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of this year following antitrust approval.
DCLI being sold to private equity fund EQT
