Fenway Partners today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell Panther Expedited Services, a provider of expedited ground transportation services, to Arkansas Best Corporation for approximately $180 million.
Panther Expedited Services is a provider of expedited ground transportation services for time-critical transportation needs. Panther provides door-to-door transportation services for more than 11,000 customers worldwide, including Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies and blue-chip transportation service providers. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Seville, OH (www.pantherii.com).
“During Fenway’s ownership of Panther, we partnered with management to significantly grow and diversify the company’s revenue base, broaden and deepen the management team, improve the customer value proposition, and increase earnings and domestic headcount. We transitioned Panther from the entrepreneurial stage to a professionally managed business, and are pleased that Arkansas Best, a very well respected transportation company, is making this strategic acquisition,” said Peter Lamm, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fenway Partners.
Fenway Partners is a middle market private equity firm based in New York with approximately $1.6 billion under management. The branded consumer product industry is a sector of particular interest to the firm. Fenway makes control investments in businesses with $100 million to $600 million in enterprise value and $15 million to $75 million in EBITDA. Equity investments generally range from $50 million to $75 million (www.fenwaypartners.com).
“Since acquiring the company in 2005, we have worked closely with Founder Daniel Sokolowski, CEO Andrew Clarke and their team at Panther to achieve our goal of transforming the company into the leading provider of premium transportation and logistics services and the largest independently-owned provider of expedited ground transportation in North America,” said Timothy Mayhew, Managing Director of Fenway Consulting Partners and a member of Panther’s Board of Directors. “Amongst other notable accomplishments, we expanded Panther’s global freight forwarding network, which significantly broadened the market in which the company operates. Not only has this been a successful investment for Fenway, we are confident that this transaction with a well-respected strategic buyer like Arkansas Best will best position Panther and its employees for future growth and enduring success during the next phase of its development.”
J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor and Scudder Law Firm served as legal advisor to Fenway on this transaction.
