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Uber Freight to Buy Transplace in $2.2B Deal

2 min read

Uber Freight, the trucking division of ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc. of San Francisco, said Thursday that it will buy transportation management and logistics company Transplace of Dallas, which just opened a 150,000-SF operations center in Rogers.

Per the deal, Uber Freight will buy Transplace for about $2.25 billion, consisting of up to $750 million in common stock of Uber Freight’s publicly traded parent company (NYSE: UBER), and the remainder in cash.

Uber Freight is buying the company from TPG Capital, the private equity platform of alternative asset firm TPG of San Francisco. Uber said the deal will create “one of the leading logistics technology platforms, with one of the largest and most comprehensive managed transportation and logistics networks in the world.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

“This is a significant step forward, not just for Uber Freight but for the entire logistics ecosystem,” said Lior Ron, head of Uber Freight. “This is an opportunity to bring together complementary best-in-class technology solutions and operational excellence from two premier companies to create an industry-first shipper-to-carrier platform that will transform shippers’ entire supply chains, delivering operational resilience and reducing costs at a time when it matters most.”

Transplace says it is the largest managed transportation service provider in North America, generating gross revenue of $3 billion from more than 1,000 customers. It manages more than $10 billion in freight and has centers in Lowell and Stuttgart, in addition to others across the country. 

Transplace was formerly owned in part by J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell, which sold its stake in 2009. It was acquired by TPG in 2017.

“The acquisition will combine the world’s premier shipper network platform with one of the industry’s most innovative supply platforms, to the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan, who appeared with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week at the Rogers facility.

“Our expectation is that shippers will see greater efficiency and transparency and carriers will benefit from the scale to drive improved operating ratios,” McGuigan said. “All in all, we expect to significantly reduce shipper and carrier empty miles to the benefit of highway and road infrastructures and the environment.”

Uber launched Uber Freight in 2017 as a service to connect carriers and drivers with clients you need to move cargo. In a news release, Transplace said the deal is expected to “accelerate Uber Freight’s path to profitability and help the segment to break even on an adjusted EBITDA basis by the end of 2022.”

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