Louisiana-based United Vision Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 115) has been acquired by private investment partnership Bluestem Equity. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A provider of heavy haul, long haul and expedited shipping, UVL has more than 100 facilities across the U.S., a fleet of more than 1,200 owner-operators, drivers and equipment, and more than 30,000 partnered carriers. UVL will continue to operate out of Lafayette, Louisiana and Houston, Texas.
"Over the past decade, UVL has been under the ownership of a group of large capital providers and credit managers. Bluestem's purchase allows us to partner with an industrial services leader with similar goals and ambitions," said UVL President Colby Domingue. "With our renewed emphasis on customers, employees, and partners, Bluestem and UVL will work together to continue to build our business into a formidable presence in the logistics industry,"
Board Member and Founder Ronnie Murphy cited the 138-plus years combined experience of the company's leadership team – and "core values [that revolve] around safety, integrity, excellence, community and drive" – as instrumental in making the strategic decision to partner with Bluestem. "The UVL family is thrilled to join forces with those who share our same values and look forward to continuing the tradition of safe customer service delivered," Murphy added.
Houston-based Bluestem is a private investment partnership with a primary focus on operating and partnering with businesses serving the industrial and construction sectors. Vice President of Business Development Ben Tucker said his company has an extensive business history in industrial services and transportation and logistics are a large part of that portfolio.
"After two years of searching, Bluestem found UVL to have the right mix of capabilities, people, customers and geography," he said. "After our first meeting with UVL leadership and witnessing UVL’s operations, we knew it was the perfect fit."
There have been at least 32 deals among CCJ's Top 250 for-hire carriers since the beginning of June, and 36 Top 250 fleets have struck 41 deals this year.
