Quad-C Management has made an investment in AIT Worldwide Logistics, a provider of air and sea freight, ground distribution, warehouse management and other supply chain services. Quad-C is partnering with AIT’s executive management team, who are maintaining significant ownership in the company.
AIT Worldwide has approximately 1,000 employees and is headquartered near Chicago in Itasca, IL with major international offices in Amsterdam and Hong Kong and an additional 50 offices worldwide (www.aitworldwide.com).
“We are thrilled to join forces with a firm that has such a high level of respect for our core values,” said Vaughn Moore, President and CEO, AIT Worldwide. “After a deliberate process, we selected Quad-C because they aligned well with both our culture and our strategic growth plan. They clearly appreciate our strong corporate identity, and they support our vision to become the global logistics provider respected for delivering a world-class experience.”
Quad-C invests from $35 million to $125 million of equity in companies with enterprise values of $75 million to $400 million. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer, general industrial, healthcare, specialty distribution and transportation and logistics. In March 2017, Quad-C closed its latest fund, Quad-C Partners IX LP, at an oversubscribed $1.1 billion. The final close was above the target of $800 million and was at the hard cap. Quad-C is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA (www.quadcmanagement.com).
“Over the past 35 years, AIT has developed a sterling reputation in transportation and logistics, a core area of specialization at Quad-C,” said Tom Hickey, a Partner at Quad-C. “The company’s ability to deliver supply chain efficiencies across nearly every industry represents a compelling value proposition for its global client base, and AIT’s management team has a proven track record of driving profitable growth. We are excited to assist AIT and support the company’s next stage of expansion.”
Other investments in the transportation and logistics sector for Quad-C include: A. Stucki Company (acquired in 2010 and exited in 2015), a supplier of new and reconditioned railcar components; NGL (acquired in 2012), a non-asset based third-party logistics company providing Next Flight Out, warehousing and distribution, service parts logistics, transportation management and ground courier services; and Worldwide Express (acquired in 2013 and exited in 2017), a franchisor with 100 independently owned franchise offices across the US, serving small-to-medium-sized businesses by providing various asset-light logistics services.
“AIT represents a solid addition to our transportation and logistics vertical,” said Michael Brooks, a Principal at Quad-C. “AIT has expanded organically in Canada, China, Europe, Mexico and Vietnam and we look forward to helping the company further achieve its worldwide growth objectives.”
Harris Williams & Co. was the financial advisor to AIT on this transaction. The transaction was led by Jason Bass, Frank Mountcastle, Jeff Burkett and Jonathan Meredith of Harris Williams & Co.’s Transportation & Logistics Group.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 23, 2017
