Forward Air announces acquisition of Value Logistics
Greeneville, Tenn.-based asset-light freight and logistics services provider Forward Air Corporation said this week it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Memphis-based privately held intermodal drayage carrier Value Logistics Inc.
Forward Air officials said that the purchase price is $2.25 million, with Value Logistics generating roughly $6 million in annual revenues. The transaction, which Forward Air said will be funded from cash on hand, will be made official later this month.
Forward Air added that bringing Value Logistics into the fold helps to make Forward a leading provider of intermodal drayage services in the Memphis market, which it said is a key expansion market in its strategic growth plan.
“The Value Logistics team is an exceptional and highly-experienced group running a first-class organization—and they will fit in perfectly with Forward’s precision execution DNA,” said Forward Air President, Chairman, and CEO Tom Schmitt in a statement. “With this acquisition, we are able to expand and strengthen our current operations in Memphis and solidify Forward Intermodal as a key player in the region.”
This marks the second acquisition Forward Air has made in recent weeks.
Last month, it announced it acquired the assets of Johnson City, Tenn.-based CLW Delivery Inc., a privately held final mile provider specializing in last-mile logistics and in-home installation services for national retailers and manufacturers, for cash consideration of $5.5 million.
Forward Air said it anticipates that this transaction, which will be funded from cash on hand, will close in October 2020. And it also noted that this acquisition of part of a growth strategy it is executing that is focused on organic infrastructure investment, including its ongoing LTL (less-than-truckload) network expansion and its organic investments, in the form of acquiring complementary businesses.
What’s more, the company noted that the acquisition of CLW supports Forward’s strategic growth plan by expanding the footprint of Forward’s Final Mile business into an additional 14 markets. And it added that with this acquisition, coupled with FSA Logistix and Linn Star Transfer in 2019, Forward Final Mile has “experienced a period of hypergrowth, expanding from eight operating locations into 110 in under two years.”
And last week, Forward said it is adding new LTL service in two new markets: Columbia, Missouri and Roanoke, Virginia. This is part of the company’s ongoing growth strategy focused on both inorganic investments, which include acquisitions, and organic infrastructure investments like its LTL expansion efforts.
Company officials said that these respective LTL operations will be located in Forward’s existing Final Mile facilities, which are located in Columbia and Roanoke, respectively, adding that Forward will “evaluate the need for separate locations based on growth.” And they also observed that the objective of this LTL expansion is to expand its LTL network to broader market coverage and expand beyond its airport-to-airport footprint.
