STG Logistics said Monday it has acquired Best Dedicated Solutions (BDS), an over-the-road carrier that operates multiple services, in a move that expands STG’s surface transportation offerings. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With the acquisition of BDS, STG will add expedited, dry van, temperature-controlled and flatbed OTR transportation services to complement its existing intermodal, drayage and facility-based containerized logistics services, including the nation’s largest network of container freight station and transload facilities.
Danny Esplin will continue to lead the BDS business as STG’s senior vice president of truck brokerage and will join STG’s executive leadership team based in BDS’s existing office in the Chicago area.
Paul Svindland, CEO of Bensenville, Ill.-based STG, said the acquisition “provides us with the ability to offer customers a complete containerized logistics solution, allowing us to move freight via our own domestic intermodal containers or via an OTR solution — whichever is optimal for the customer.”
“We have gotten to know BDS and their team over some time and are extremely excited about this acquisition,” commented Geoff Anderman, president and COO of STG. “They have built a strong, service-oriented culture and a scalable platform that is highly complementary to STG’s existing services and capacity.”
Esplin stated, “Joining STG will allow us to offer additional asset-based solutions to existing customers, but also provide a key component of STG’s vision to provide a truly vertically integrated port-to-door solution to customers.
Founded in 1985 as St. George Logistics, STG has made 14 acquisitions since 2016. Its most prominent was the acquisition of XPO’s (NYSE: XPO) intermodal business in March 2022 for $710 million in cash.
STG operates a nationwide network comprising 70 locations totaling more than 5 million square feet, 15,000 intermodal containers, 6,000 chassis and nearly 3,000 tractors providing port and rail drayage services. STG is a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners and Oaktree Capital Management.
