logistics

Wind Point Acquires A&R Logistics

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Wind Point has acquired A&R Logistics, a provider of dry bulk logistics services to manufacturers and distributors of chemicals and plastics, from Mason Wells which acquired the company in January 2013.

A&R’s services include transportation, warehousing, packaging, distribution, and third-party logistics management. The company operates a national network of nearly 50 facilities, a fleet of 800 specialized tractors and 1,200 pneumatic trailers (both company-owned equipment and owner-operators), and a technology platform customized for dry bulk transportation.

A&R, founded in 1969, is led by CEO Mark Holden and is headquartered in Louisville, KY (www.ardoingitright.com). Mr. Holden and the entire management team of A&R will remain with the business and retain a meaningful ownership stake in the company alongside Wind Point.

“We are excited to have Wind Point as our partner for a number of reasons, key among them a deep knowledge of the logistics space and a reputation for strong collaboration with the management teams they sponsor,” said Mr. Holden. “We are very excited to work with Wind Point to grow A&R Logistics, and we see significant opportunities ahead for our company, customers, employees and partners as we grow the business organically and through acquisition.”

Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses. Earlier investments in these sectors include Dicom Transportation (acquired in March 2014), St. George Logistics (acquired in July 2016), Valicor Environmental Services (acquired in June 2017), RailWorks (acquired in May 2007) and AIR-serv (acquired in March 2003 and sold in July 2006 to Macquarie Capital).

According to Wind Point, A&R’s organic growth strategy for the domestic dry bulk plastics market will focus on expanding its transportation infrastructure and national network of warehouse facilities. A&R plans to launch multiple new facilities totaling at least two million square feet in the Ports of Charleston and Savannah to support the packaging and export of numerous resins including polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene.

For add-on acquisitions, A&R will focus on buying companies similar to itself that provide dry bulk transportation and warehousing services to producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics. A&R will also look to expand through acquisition into complementary services, including liquid chemical supply chain services.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mark Holden and the A&R team as they lead the company into a new phase of growth,” said Konrad Salaber, a managing director at Wind Point. “We look forward to supporting a robust value creation plan that includes expanding A&R’s domestic infrastructure, aggressively growing export supply chain solutions in the Ports of Charleston and Savannah, and completing acquisitions to enhance the company’s scale and scope of service.”

Debt financing for the transaction is being provided by Antares Capital, Bain Capital, First Eagle Investment Management, and Varagon Capital as syndication agent.

Kirkland & Ellis is providing legal services to Wind Point and KPMG is providing transaction advisory services.

Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. 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 is the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago (www.wppartners.com).

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | May 8, 2019

 

Greenbriar Invests in Logistics Company

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Greenbriar Equity Group has made an investment in BDP International, a provider of logistics and transportation services.

BDP International is a lead logistics provider (LLP) of ocean, air and ground transportation; export freight forwarding; import customs clearance and regulatory compliance; warehousing, consolidation and distribution; and online shipping transaction/tracking management. The company has more than 4,000 customers worldwide that are active in the chemical, life sciences & healthcare, retail & consumer, industrial & manufacturing, and oil & gas sectors.

BDP was founded in 1966 as the R.J. Bolte Company by Richard J. Bolte, Sr. Through a series of mergers, the company became BDP International in 1972. Today, the Philadelphia-based company operates through 148 owned offices in 34 countries across the globe and has more than 5,000 employees (www.bdpinternational.com).

“Greenbriar has a long-standing focus in the logistics sector and understands our business, strategy, and culture,” said Richard Bolte, Jr., chairman and CEO of BDP. “This partnership will enable our team to pursue new organic initiatives, acquisitions, and investments that provide our customers with additional solutions to better manage their supply chains. I am thrilled to continue as CEO and am delighted that our executive leadership team will remain fully intact. We look forward to collaborating with Greenbriar and are excited about the possibilities our new partnership will generate.”

Greenbriar invests from $75 million to $150 million of equity per transaction in services and manufacturing businesses that have enterprise from $100 million to $1 billion. Sectors of specific interest include logistics, aerospace and defense, industrial and business services, transportation, and specialty manufacturing.

“We first sought out BDP 15 years ago and introduced ourselves because of its outstanding reputation as a customer-focused, global logistics provider with a highly talented team,” said Jill Raker, a managing partner at Greenbriar. “We’ve had the pleasure to get to know the business and team in depth over the last number of years and are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them and to invest in BDP’s future growth.”

Greenbriar is investing from its third fund, Greenbriar Equity Fund III LP, which closed in June 2014 with $1.1 billion of committed capital. The firm was founded in 1999 and is based in Rye, NY (www.greenbriarequity.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | December 7, 2018

Gryphon Buys Logistics Company from Ridgemont

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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

Tracy Family Acquires TAGG

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Dot Family Holdings, the investment office of the Tracy family, has acquired TAGG Logistics.

TAGG is an e-commerce fulfillment platform that offers nationwide B2B and B2C e-commerce order fulfillment, retail distribution services, contract packaging, reverse logistics and kitting and assembly. Many of TAGG’s customers are active in the healthcare and consumer products sectors.

In addition to its St. Louis headquarters, the company has three additional facilities in Reno, NV; Sparks, NV; and near Philadelphia in Macungie, PA. TAGG was founded in 2006 by Tod Yazdi and Gary Patterson and has 140 employees (www.tagglogistics.com).

“Dot Family Holdings’ business experience and resources complement TAGG,” said Mr. Yazdi, TAGG’s CEO. “Dot has extensive experience in logistics and distribution, and our new partners bring a lot of resources and expertise that will help TAGG continue to grow.” Post-closing, the current leadership team of TAGG will continue to manage the operations of the business with Dot Family Holdings providing oversight and governance.

The Tracy family is the owner and operator of Dot Foods, one of the largest food industry redistributors in the US. The company offers over 112,000 products from 830 food industry manufacturers. Dot consolidates these products and delivers in less-than-truckload quantities to distributors nationwide on a weekly basis. Dot has approximately 4,200 employees and annual revenues in excess of $6 billion. The company has nine distribution centers that serve all 50 states and over 25 countries. Dot is headquartered in Mount Sterling, IL (www.dotfoods.com).

“E-commerce is a rapidly growing industry where we see great opportunity,” said Heath Hunter, Vice President – Corporate Development of Dot Family Holdings.  “TAGG is a successful and growing business and is a great fit within our portfolio of companies. For now, it will be business as usual at TAGG, but there is the potential for collaboration between Dot Foods and TAGG down the road.”

Dot Foods was founded in 1960 by Robert Tracy and was originally named Associated Dairy Products to reflect the nature of the business at the time. In 2016, Dot Foods was listed at number 65 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies with a reported revenue of $6.2 billion in 2015. In 2017, John Tracy moved from CEO to executive chairman of the company, and his brother, Joe Tracy, became CEO. Another brother, Dick Tracy, was appointed president. All three are sons of founder Robert Tracy and his wife, Dorothy.

Dot Family Holdings invests in non-food distribution businesses – to avoid any conflict with Dot Foods’ customers and suppliers – that are based in the US or Canada and have enterprise values between $25 million and $250 million or EBITDA in the range of $5 million to $30 million. The family office is based in St. Louis (www.dotfamilyholdings.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 31, 2018

Huron Acquires Direct Connect Logistix

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Huron Capital has acquired Direct Connect Logistix (DCL), an Indianapolis-based provider of nationwide transportation and logistics services.

DCL has a network of pre-qualified carriers that are used to offer truckload, partial truckload, expedited freight, small parcel, and air freight brokerage services to customers that operate in the food and beverage, plastic containers and packaging, and consumer packaged goods industries (www.dclogistix.com).

DCL is led by CEO Roger Singh, President Greg Humrichouser, and Vice President John Leininger, and all three will continue to manage the business under Huron ownership. “At the core of DCL is the strong brand and business we have built, and we are confident in our belief that Huron Capital is the right partner to help us accelerate our growth, while maintaining the connections and culture that we have very intentionally created,” said the three senior managers in a released statement. “We believe Huron Capital’s experience and investment will provide opportunities for DCL to expand service offerings, enhance our geographic footprint, and expand the platform through acquisitions.”

“Huron Capital has a history of investing in both the transportation industry and growing businesses with dynamic cultures based on hiring talented, dedicated people, which made DCL a great fit,” said Matt Hare, Partner at Huron Capital. “DCL’s founders have institutionalized their entrepreneurial approach to freight brokerage management, developing strong talent within their organization, which we believe provides a solid foundation as we pursue new growth, both organically and through acquisition.”

Huron Capital invests up to $70 million per transaction in middle-market companies that have revenues up to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, business services, consumer goods & services, and healthcare. Huron was founded in 1999 and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).

The acquisition of DCL is the second platform launched by Huron in 2018. In January the firm acquired Pueblo Mechanical & Controls in partnership with the senior management team of the company and industry veteran Dan Bueschel. Tucson-based Pueblo provides a range of HVAC replacement, retrofit and repair services primarily for facilities in the education, municipal, and healthcare end markets throughout Arizona (www.pueblo-mechanical.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 11, 2018

Canopy and Plexus Exit Freight Force

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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