Less-than-truckload carrier Estes said Monday it has started opening terminals it has acquired from defunct Yellow Corp. as part of a “national expansion.”
The carrier acquired 24 service centers for $249 million at Yellow’s (OTC: YELLQ) first auction, which concluded in early December. It picked up five leased properties for $35 million at a second auction a couple of weeks later.
A more than $1.5 billion stalking horse bid from the company in September set the minimum valuation for Yellow’s real estate portfolio ahead of the auctions. That bid eclipsed an offer from rival carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL).
Estes opened a 58-door terminal in Florence, South Carolina, last week. It also opened locations in Reno, Nevada (54 doors), and Cinnaminson, New Jersey (92 doors). The latter two properties were acquired from Yellow’s estate.
In total, Estes plans to open at least 20 terminals this year, the first eight by the end of June. The company will add locations in Tacoma, Washington; San Fernando Valley, California; Detroit; and Austin, Texas, among other areas this year, adding 985 doors to its network of more than 10,000 doors.
Estes has also added more than 130 tractors and 6,000 trailers, as well as other equipment, from Yellow’s former locations.
“These acquisitions represent the single biggest influx of terminals and equipment in Estes’ recent history,” said Webb Estes, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Other carriers recently reopened former Yellow terminals.
Last week, XPO (NYSE: XPO) said it had opened three of the 28 locations it acquired from Yellow as part of an $870 million acquisition, and Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) said it had begun the relaunch of the 28 locations valued at $244 million that it purchased from the estate.
“Acquiring these terminals was just step one — we’re now focused on putting them to work as quickly as possible to better serve our customers, which is exactly what we’re doing with these first ones,” said Carrie Johnstone, Estes’ vice president of customer experience and innovation.
