Greenbriar buys controlling stake in SEKO Logistics

Chicago-based SEKO has expanded in recent years into a full-service logistics provider with transportation, warehousing, supply chain, home delivery and e-commerce capabilities.    Private investment firm Greenbriar Equity has taken a majority stake in privately held SEKO Logistics as part of a recapitalization undertaking aimed at helping the company grow quickly, primarily through acquisitions, the companies announced Tuesday.
   Chicago-based SEKO has a 40-year history in freight forwarding, but in recent years has expanded into a full-service logistics provider with transportation, warehousing, supply chain, home delivery and e-commerce capabilities. The company has 120 offices in 40 countries, including 58 in the United States.
   SEKO CEO William Wascher and the senior management team will continue to run SEKO, according to a joint statement by the new partners.
   Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Wascher said in a phone interview the transaction puts SEKO’s fragmented global ownership under a single corporate umbrella. SEKO has an independent contractor model with different ownership groups in the U.S., United Kingdom and Hong Kong-China. All of the offices, however, work exclusively under the SEKO brand using a common technology platform. Now, the company will own all of its operations rather than having an independent contractor relationship, with more than 50 shareholders transferring their interests into the consolidated company.
   Greenbriar’s investment will also provide capital to support an aggressive growth strategy. 
   “Historically, we’ve grown organically, and we feel the time is right in the logistics lifecycle that we should start entertaining strategic acquisitions” to strengthen key vertical markets such as retail and energy, and go after new opportunities in other industry verticals, Wascher said.
   Greenbriar, Rye, N.Y., focuses on investments in the transportation sector, with more than $2 billion of raised capital deployed through three funds. It typically targets companies with enterprise values between $100 million to more than $1 billion, investing between $75 million to $150 million of equity in each transaction. The company’s portfolio includes non-asset based 3PL Transplace and Lazer Spot, Inc., a provider of outsourced yard management services for truck fleets. Greenbriar recently cashed in its investment in GENCO Distribution Services, a large 3PL that was acquired in January by FedEx Corp. for $1.4 billion.
   Wascher said Greenbriar’s expertise analyzing and negotiating acquisitions will be a major asset for SEKO.
   The expansion strategy will focus on overseas markets. The company has a broader service offering in the United States and customers have been asking SEKO to spread those core competencies around the globe, said Wascher.
   The logistics provider, for example, has a strong capability in the medical device field. It recently opened a facility in Ireland to manage manufacturers’ inventory of diagnostic imaging equipment such as ultrasound and MRI machines to be used in demonstration, or trial, programs at hospitals and clinics throughout Europe. SEKO’s white-glove teams deliver, set up and help operate the equipment on site, and then decontaminate it in clean rooms upon return.
   If SEKO makes a domestic acquisition, it likely will be for a trucking company, according to Wascher. SEKO used to have its own fleet, but didn’t have the volumes during the recession to justify the cost. Now the company has grown to the point where it makes sense to run dedicated equipment between certain city pairs, he told American Shipper.