Radiant acquires Canadian freight broker Wheels in $78.5 million deal

Acquisition expands Radiant’s footprint and service offerings, as well as cross-selling opportunities in the Canada market.    Radiant Logistics Group has acquired the Canadian non-asset-based trucking and freight brokerage Wheels Group for $57 million.
   “With historic Wheels debt expected to be refinanced, the transaction is expected to have an estimated total enterprise value of (roughly $78.5) million,” Radiant said in a statement.
   Bellevue, Wash.-based Radiant said the acquisition will expand its geographic footprint and service offering and facilitate cross-selling opportunities across the combined Radiant-Wheels network. Both carriers are publicly traded and Wheels shareholders will be paid in cash or Radiant shares.
   Bohn Crain, chairman and chief executive officer of Radiant, will retain these positions and lead the combined company. Tim Boyce, president of Wheels’ U.S operations, will continue as the chief operating officer of the organization’s North American brokerage operations. Peter Jamieson, president, Wheels Canada, will continue as senior vice president and country manager for Canada.
   “We are very excited to partner with the Wheels organization, which represents a service line and geographic expansion for both companies,” said Crain, who founded Radiant. “We have been looking for a truck brokerage and intermodal platform to complement our forwarding operations for some time and we expect this transaction to be accretive to our earnings (as adjusted for amortization of acquired intangibles) within the near term and accelerate our growth.”
   Crain said Radiant expects revenues of the combined group to reach $750 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016. In its fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, Radiant Logistics had sales of $349 million; Wheels Group had sales of $275 million Canadian ($227 million US) in the first nine months of its fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
   “We believe the acquisition further enhances the value proposition we offer our existing operating partners, who will now have the opportunity to access a broad range of rail and truck brokerage capabilities while further differentiating us in the marketplace as we seek to attract additional operators to our platform,” said Crain.
   Doug Tozer, the CEO of Wheels, said the two companies “share a common vision and provide complimentary services which will be leveraged to expand operational capabilities and geographic reach.
   “We look forward to working with Radiant to introduce intermodal and truck brokerage capabilities to customers in their network, as well as support them with opportunities here in Canada while leveraging Radiant’s domestic and international freight forwarding capabilities across our own customer base,” he said.
   Wheels, founded in 1988, provides intermodal and truck brokerage services throughout the United States and Canada, along with third party logistics solutions and value added warehouse and distribution services for U.S. shippers looking to access the Canadian market. Wheels’ Canadian operations are headquartered Toronto, Ontario, while its U.S. operations are headquartered in Chicago.