Gryphon Investors has acquired Transportation Insight, an asset-lite provider of enterprise logistics and transportation brokerage services, from Ridgemont Equity Partners which acquired the company in 2014.
Transportation Insight is currently active in supporting approximately $4 billion of multi-modal, annual transportation-related spend for over 1,500 logistics and brokerage customers across a range of industries. The company’s services include domestic and international third-party logistics, carrier sourcing, freight bill audit and payment services, reporting and analysis, and hosted transportation management systems. Transportation Insight was founded in 1999 and is headquartered near Charlotte in Hickory, NC (www.transportationinsight.com).
Paul Thompson, the company’s founder and chairman, along with CEO Chris Baltz, will retain significant equity positions and continue in their day-to-day management of the company under Gryphon ownership. “The Transportation Insight team is very excited to partner with Gryphon as we think about the next stage of the company’s growth and the significant market opportunity available,” said Mr. Thompson. “We look forward to building our business both organically and through acquisitions while continuing to deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers over the coming years.”
“Our investment in Transportation Insight aligns well with our focus on partnering with companies that are benefiting from strong macroeconomic tailwinds and that have clear opportunities to achieve above-market growth when supported by Gryphon’s unique partnership strategy,” said Bob Grady, a Partner at Gryphon and head of the firm’s Industrial Growth group. “We are excited to partner with such a high-quality business led by an exceptional, purpose-driven management team.”
Gryphon makes leveraged acquisitions and growth investments in middle-market companies. The firm invests from $50 million to $200 million of capital in companies with sales ranging from $100 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer and retail, automotive, chemical, general manufacturing, healthcare and hotels. Gryphon closed its fourth private equity buyout fund, Gryphon IV LP, in November 2016 at $1.1 billion, and raised a $100 million captive mezzanine fund, Gryphon Mezzanine Partners LP, in August 2017. Gryphon Investors is based in San Francisco (www.gryphoninvestors.com).
Wes Lucas, an Operations Partner at Gryphon and the former CEO of SIRVA, a large moving and relocation services provider, will join the board of directors of Transportation Insight as its Executive Chairman. “We were attracted to Transportation Insight’s strong value-proposition and market-leading position in providing highly-differentiated enterprise logistics and brokerage solutions,” said Mr. Lucas. “The company is well-positioned to benefit from continued trends boosting the sector’s growth, including increasingly complex supply chains, sustained growth in e-commerce and omni-channel fulfillment, and a shift toward outsourced supply chain management among businesses globally.”
“Gryphon is the perfect partner at this time given their longstanding interest in our sector and deep expertise in industrials, transportation, and logistics,” said Mr. Baltz. “With their support, we will dominate the North American transportation logistics space.”
Ridgemont, the seller of Transportation Insight, focuses on middle market buyout and growth equity investments of $25 million to $100 million. The firm invests in the following sectors: basic industries and services, energy, healthcare, and technology and telecommunications. The firm is headquartered in Charlotte with an additional office in Dallas (www.ridgemontep.com).
Harris Williams & Company was the financial advisor to Transportation Insight and BB&T Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Gryphon.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 4, 2018