St. George Logistics, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Freight Force. St. George Logistics was acquired by Wind Point in July 2016 from LongueVue Capital and Ironwood Capital.
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).
“The expansion of our first and final mile services has been a critical strategic initiative for STG as we are eager to respond to the surge in demand for our domestic transportation management services,” said Hessel Verhage, STG’s President and CEO. “We can now offer specialized equipment, TSA certified carriers, compliance with tight timelines for air and ocean delivery cutoffs, and ample storage space nationwide in support of our clients’ first and final mile needs.”
Freight Force management, led by Chris Coppersmith, will continue with the business and will join St. George Logistics as shareholders and senior members of its operations management team.
“We are very excited to continue our support of STG’s robust acquisition program,” said Konrad Salaber, a Managing Director at Wind Point Partners. “Consistent with our original investment thesis, the STG team is building a truly unique enterprise that stands as a leader in the global supply chain. Freight Force is the sixth add-on we have acquired since forming the platform in July 2016 and we expect that acquisitions will continue to complement STG’s strong organic growth as a driver of future value creation.”
“Fueled by e-commerce and increased specialization among freight forwarders, the first and final mile segments are among the highest growth but most challenging components of the global supply chain,” said Chris Jamroz, Executive Chairman of STG. “Freight Force immediately enables STG to offer a compelling first and final mile solution to our diverse base of customers and will help them compete in one of the fastest growing sectors of the logistics industry. Freight Force is the perfect complement to our existing suite of national value-added warehousing, fulfillment, distribution and transportation services.”
Wind Point invests from $30 million to $150 million in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. Wind Point was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago. In June 2017, Wind Point held a final closing of its eighth fund, Wind Point Partners VIII LP, with $985 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial hard cap of $750 million and marks the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history (www.wppartners.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 14, 2018