M&A

Canadian railway Canadian Pacific plans to merge with Kansas City Southern in a deal worth $29 billion.

Eastern U.S. railroad CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) has started the regulatory process to acquire New England short line operator Pan Am Railways in a move that CSX hopes will strengthen its […]

Agent-based MODE will add a growthy in-house operation.

Supply chain-focused private equity firm Red Arts Capital acquires Canadian third-party logistics provider Radius Logistics.

Cardinal Logistics has acquired heavy-goods final-mile provider NRX Logistics. The deal marks the third final-mile transaction for M&A advisory firm Tenney Group in the last year.

Capstone Headwaters releases December update on logistics technology deals.

Drayage provider ContainerPort Group announces intermodal terminal operator FSI Inc. will start operating under the CPG banner at the beginning of the year.

Penske Logistics plans to acquire Black Horse Carriers, a Chicago-based trucking company with more than 2,000 vehicles and 4,000 employees.

Cold storage heavyweight Lineage Logistics announces the acquisition of Poland’s largest temperature-controlled storage and logistics provider, Pago.

J.B. Hunt adds to its final-mile network through acquisition for the fourth time since 2017. The company announces the acquisition of commercial fitness delivery and installation company Mass Movement.

Forward Air adds to non-airport less-than-truckload service by opening a facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Americold announces another large acquisition, a couple of expansion projects, and informs analysts and investors that the holidays haven’t been canceled.

Privately owned short line operator Patriot Rail is planning to acquire the 26-mile short line as it eyes business opportunities in Utah.

In today’s edition of The Daily Dash, Landstar is the latest carrier to predict a strong fourth quarter. M&A activity could be hitting the brakes and a truck driver is charged for driving into a crowd of protesters.

Outsourced supply chain solutions provider Capstone Logistics has been acquired by former owner H.I.G. Capital.

Forward Air sees 60 cents per share in the third quarter. The earnings pre-announcement comes in significantly higher than analysts’ current forecasts.

Cold storage operator Americold expands its portfolio again, this time in a $1.74 billion bid for the world’s fourth-largest provider. Americold plans to offer 33 million common shares in total to facilitate the deal.

TFI International’s acquisition spree continues. The Canadian transportation and logistics company adds another bulk carrier to its portfolio with the purchase of Grammer Dry Bulk.

Canadian trucking and logistics company Mullen Group announces the acquisition of customs warehouse operator International Warehousing and Distribution Inc.

The relationships a logistics business builds up over the years can prove highly valuable when it comes time to sell.

Forward Air announces the addition of CLW Delivery to its last-mile network, continuing its acceleration of both inorganic and organic growth initiatives.

sennder is now unquestionably the leading digital freight brokerage in Europe.

Transplace’s third acquisition of 2020 will help manufacturing companies manage inventory and orchestrate supplier networks.

An interview with Daseke CFO Jason Bates highlights the company’s financial turnaround. When will the carrier get back on the acquisition trail?

Lineage Logistics has added 24 locations to its network of cold storage facilities through a series of acquisitions. The announcement follows a few large deals Lineage announced recently.

A Wall Street Journal article suggested Global Infrastructure Partners and the Blackstone Group’s infrastructure segment are considering acquiring KCS.

RLS says customers want a flexible, responsive alternative to PE-backed roll-ups.

Transplace expands its mode optionality and network optimization to parcel.

Expeditors International sees digital platform acquisition as key to advancing its less-than-truckload shipping platform.

Ontario-based Joseph Haulage buys Bergland Transport to build on its growing business serving agriculture and food sectors.

Lineage Logistics’ bid for food service distributor Maines expected to save 850 jobs.

It won’t be the last opportunistic e-commerce acquisition we see.

The rail industry could see merger activity in the next five to 10 years should the regulatory and economic environment make them necessary.

The majority of executives expect growth exceeding 10% and are actively pursuing deals.

XPO has made spin-offs the new buzzword in logistics for 2020.

The Nolan Transportation Group and Transportation Insight roll-up continues apace.

The companies share a vision of network optimization through continuous moves.

NFI continues its consolidation of the drayage market, this time with a Southeast-concentrated trucking carrier and a large trailer pool.

Middle-market leveraged buyouts are cooling, but institutions still taking risk on the venture and growth equity side of the industry.

Heartland Express once again uses its strong financial position to acquire. The carrier has a pattern of building cash balances and finding accretive tuck-in deals.

Sime Darby Berhad (BM: 4197) has directly told FreightWaves it paid about NZ$211 million (US$136 million) to acquire automotive and construction machinery dealer Gough Group of New Zealand.

Automotive parts, tires, fuels and lubricant specialist U.S. Venture has bought energy information and supply chain management company Breakthrough Fuel for an undisclosed sum.

Deal will grow U.S. last-mile business and add $100 million in annual revenue, Canadian transportation firm says.

GlobalTranz more than doubled EBITDA in less than a year.

Canadian firm nets C$100 million from deal with Saskatchewan bulk transportation company.

Aulick and ShirAul were “a compelling strategic fit for our Specialized Truckload growth objectives in the U.S,” says CEO Alain Bédard.

Fortna, a supply chain automation design and implementation company, announced today that it entered into a recapitalization agreement with private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.

The seller was Swedish private equity group EQT Partners, which may be trying to clean up its balance sheet ahead of an IPO.

Valuations will stay high and capital is readily accessible, bringing both sellers and buyers to market.

CHRW fills out geographical white space and adds density to its Transatlantic forwarding business after turning the corner on the Milgram & Co. integration.

Worldwide customs and logistics software provider WiseTech Global has today announced the acquisition of Containerchain, a provider of a shipping container tracking and managing systems for AU$92 million (just over USD$65.8 million) in cash.

Share buybacks a better use of capital, Jacobs asserts.

Sponsored by Redwood LogisticsRedwood Logistics announced its acquisition of Strive Logistics Monday, cementing Redwood’s place as a top-15 truck broker and an emerging multimodal logistics provider with over $1 billion in freight under management.

Sponsored by Redwood LogisticsThird-party logistics (3PL) companies are attractive investments for private equity firms, enabling new companies in the space to grow faster than ever before. FreightWaves and Redwood Logistics teamed up to host a webinar on how the availability of private equity is shaking up the transportation space.

The combined brokerage expects to do $200 million in revenue this year.

Sponsored by Redwood LogisticsCultural alignment matters: one of the greatest barriers to successful M&As is lack of cultural integration.

Sponsored by Redwood LogisticsCultural alignment matters: one of the greatest barriers to successful M&As is lack of cultural integration.

Joplin, Missouri-based Contract Freighter Inc (CFI) will “assume responsibility” for Chicago-based freight transport company, Optimal Freight, at the start of the New Year. Financial details of the transaction are not available at the time of writing.

We spoke to GlobalTranz’s outgoing CEO Bob Farrell and new CEO Renee Krug about the transition in leadership and the marketplace for mergers and acquisitions in the 3PL space going forward into 2019.

Melbourne-based MaxiTRANS, an Australian manufacturer and supplier of trailers and road transport equipment, has bought a local live bottom trailer manufacturer. It has also disposed of its majority shareholding in a panel-making business in China.

This morning Fleet Complete, a global leader in connected vehicle technology and software, announced that it had been acquired by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, a large fund with $193.9B in assets.

The company is not turning its back on acquisitions forever but thinks it needs to digest the heavy slate of companies it has bought since the middle of 2018.

Peter Stefanovich of Left Lane Associates, an M&A advisory firm for the transportation industry, talked to us about the current outlook for M&A and why now is the perfect time to sell.

FreightWaves spoke to GlobalTranz Chairman and CEO Bob Farrell about what made the tech-oriented 3PL attractive to The Jordan Company, the outlook for the current M&A environment, and staying disciplined in a period of “stupid multiples.”

The merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation may be the transportation highlight for the year, but there has plenty more activity revolving around mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2017, with no letup in sight.