Freight Force, a portfolio company of Canopy Capital Partners and co-investor Plexus Capital, has been sold to St. George Logistics, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners.

Freight Force specializes in first mile and last mile transportation services and operates the nation’s largest network of independent carriers serving freight forwarders and other third-party logistics (3PL) providers. The company has partnerships with local and regional motor carriers in 52 metropolitan areas and can provide its services across the entire United States.

Freight Force serves more than 2,200 freight forwarders and 3PL providers and executes approximately 500,000 first and last mile deliveries annually. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Anaheim, CA (www.freightforce.com).

St. George Logistics (STG) is a provider of container freight station (CFS) services for ocean and air cargo imported into the United States. The company also provides logistics services, including contract warehousing, distribution, e-commerce fulfillment and transportation services. The STG customer base includes freight forwarders, neutral NVOCCs (non-vessel operating common carriers), retailers, consumer packaged goods companies, and other businesses. The company is headquartered near Newark in South Kearny, NJ with additional facilities located in the nation’s largest ports and metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston (www.stgusa.com).

“We were extremely fortunate to partner with incoming CEO Chris Coppersmith and the rest of the Freight Force management team in the acquisition of Freight Force back in January 2015,” said Scott Long, Canopy Capital Managing Partner. “Since their founding in 1983, Freight Force has offered a compelling value proposition for both its freight forwarder customers as well as their network of approved motor carriers. During our term of ownership, we were able to add key employees as well as new customer and carrier relationships which helped drive substantial growth in revenue and EBITDA.”

Canopy Capital invests in companies that have revenues from $5 million to $100 million and EBITDA from $2 million to $10 million. Sectors of interest include business services, transportation and logistics, niche manufacturing, and value-added distribution. The firm invests across the US but places an emphasis on the southeastern states particularly Florida. Canopy Capital was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Tampa (www.canopycp.com).

“We were excited when Canopy Capital and Chris Coppersmith initially approached Plexus with an opportunity to work together on this transaction,” said Alex Bean, a Partner with Plexus Capital. “Both Canopy Capital and Chris Coppersmith, as well as the entire Freight Force team, helped deliver exceptional growth and a positive outcome for the Freight Force employees, management team, and investors.”

Plexus Capital invests up to $40 million of subordinated debt and equity in companies that have revenues of up to $150 million and EBITDA of up to $20 million. The firm invests across all industries. Since its founding in 2005, Plexus has raised $950 million of capital across four funds and invested in 88 companies. Plexus has offices in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC (www.plexuscap.com).

Raymond James Financial was the financial advisor to Freight Force.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | April 12, 2018

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