Universal Truckload Services Inc. announced today, July 27, that it has entered into a limited asset purchase agreement to acquire certain assets utilized in the operations of Pacer Transport Inc., or Pacer Transport, and two of its subsidiaries, S&H Transport Inc. and S&H Leasing Inc., based in Desoto, Texas.
Pacer Transport is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacer International Inc. The assets purchased include customer, owner-operator and agent lists and files, as well as owned trailers, used in operations consisting primarily of flatbed, van and specialized heavy-haul equipment services throughout the United States. The purchased assets will be integrated into the operations of Universal Am-Can Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Truckload Services Inc.
The closing, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to occur in August. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The Pacer Transport network consists of about 130 agents, 480 owner-operators and 99 company trucks. Universal expects that the acquisition will contribute about $30 million to $40 million of additional revenues, and that it will not have a material effect on net income for the third and fourth quarters of 2009.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to continue to provide best-in-class service to all of Pacer Transport’s customers, and we believe this acquisition will complement our truckload operations,” says Don Cochran, president and chief executive officer of Universal Truckload, based in Warren, Mich. “We expect the asset-light business model to integrate nicely with our current operations and that we will be able to achieve efficiencies through this acquisition. We appreciate all the efforts of our acquisition team and look forward to the strengths and opportunities that the group of Pacer Transport’s agents and owner-operators will add to our organization.”
