This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Small Fleet and Owner-Operator Summit.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: An update on the transportation and logistics M&A landscape.
DETAILS: The transportation M&A market appears to have stabilized, said Spencer Tenney, president and CEO of M&A advisory firm the Tenney Group, at FreightWaves’ Small Fleet and Owner-Operator Summit.
KEY QUOTES FROM TENNEY:
On what prompted the slowdown in transportation M&A: “The freight market and then this accelerated sequencing of interest rate hikes that was unlike anything that we’ve seen in the last 40 years. So, understandably both buyers and sellers took a wait-and-see posture.”
On market stabilization: “We’re in a much more stabilized market. It’s not ideal for either party, both in terms of the cost of capital or the freight market for that matter. But when you have pain in a marketplace you don’t need ideal conditions, you just need stable conditions, and that allows both buyers and sellers to work together collaboratively.”
On what acquirers like currently: “The buyers are acquiring these companies [brokerages, dry van dedicated fleets and bulk haulers] because they either provide insulation, diversification or some contractual-type revenue, which addresses a very specific sensitivity that maybe created some pain for them in the last 18 months.”
