LoadDelivered, the Chicago-headquartered freight brokerage founded in 2008 by Robert Nathan, has been acquired by Capstone Logistics, a leading provider of outsourced supply chain solutions at nationwide distribution centers catering to the grocery, foodservice, retail and automotive industries. Nathan and LoadDelivered’s Director of Automation, Chris Ricciardi, founded Logistical Labs, the SaaS company that created LoadDex, a pricing and carrier selection analytics tool, in 2013. Logistical Labs was included in the Capstone acquisition deal.
Capstone Logistics is owned by The Jordan Company, private equity firm that acquired freight brokerage GlobalTranz last week. The Jordan Company has managed funds with original capital commitments in excess of $11 billion since 1987, with a track record of investing in and contributing to the growth of businesses across the transportation and logistics industries.
LoadDelivered founder and CEO Robert Nathan spoke to FreightWaves by phone. “The Jordan Company is one of the premier North American logistics and supply chain-focused investing firms. And it’s wonderful to be a part of Capstone Logistics, as well,” Nathan said. “The partnership will allow us to continue to strategically invest in internal operations, build differentiated solutions and progressive technology for our customers, and be a 3PL of choice for our carriers. We’re excited to scale our business to the next level, and I look forward to what’s ahead.”
Nathan said that LoadDelivered’s brand, offices, workforce, and culture would remain intact after it joined Capstone Logistics, and that “Logistical Labs was servicing some of the largest 3PLs and trucking companies in North America, and has been for the past four years, and will continue to do so. I’m a firm believer that in the world of supply chain, we’re seeing a convergence of services, a convergence of technologies, and a convergence of data. And I believe this blends all three of these aspects and empowers the organization to accelerate even faster.”
In 2017, LoadDelivered generated $120M in gross revenue ($20M net revenue, according to Transport Topics), and Nathan said that prior to the acquisition, the brokerage was on track to pull in about $190M gross revenue in 2018.
Until its acquisition of LoadDelivered, Capstone Logistics focused on warehouse and distribution center management services, including staffing dock workers, inspecting freight, pallet management, and trailer switching. Capstone was formed by H.I.G. Capital in 2011, when H.I.G. merged its portfolio company Progressive Logistics Services (formerly Progressive Loading Services) with LMS Intellibound. H.I.G. sold Capstone to The Jordan Company in 2014, and since then, Capstone acquired Pinnacle Workforce Logistics in 2015 and Best Loading Services in 2016.
Nathan will become the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Capstone, working with Capstone’s executive team on building out an end-to-end holistic supply chain solution. In January 2018, several media outlets reported that Uber Freight was looking at the possibility of buying LoadDelivered. “I always believed in aligning LoadDelivered with a company that’s focused on end-to-end supply chain, so aligning with a 3PL as opposed to just a broker was very important to us. Selecting Capstone allowed us to continue putting our customers, our people, and our team first, and we’ll continue to grow under the Capstone umbrella,” said Nathan.
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