Knight-Swift Transportation, the No. 3 company on the 2024 FleetOwner 500: For-Hire list recently acquired the regional less-than-truckload division of Los Angeles-based Dependable Highway Express. The acquisition is expected to immediately increase Knight-Swift’s earnings per share.
“We are excited to take the next step toward building a nationwide LTL business, and especially to grow our network to include the key Southwest markets of California, Arizona, and Nevada,” Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller said. “This transaction increases our LTL terminal and door counts by approximately 10% and brings our network’s coverage of the U.S. population to approximately 70%. The strategic value of acquiring a strong Southwest competitor like DHE is meaningful given the impact to our coverage area significantly expands the customers we can serve as well as the difficulty of building or acquiring LTL facilities in many of these locations. DHE will connect with our existing AAA Cooper and MME businesses to provide seamless coast-to-coast service to our customers.”
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Financial terms were not disclosed. Knight-Swift estimates that DHE generated about $122 million in total operating revenue over the past 12 months with an operating margin of about 10%. The DHE associates and assets will operate as a separate brand under the AAA Cooper corporate group. Before the transaction, Joe Finney served as the COO of DHE, and he will continue to serve as its president following the transaction.
“The entire Massman family is immensely proud of the legacy built by the DHE LTL team and thankful for their efforts over our many years in business,” Dependable CEO Ronald Massman said. “While we never intended to sell the division, we have watched with admiration as Knight-Swift set about building a leading national LTL business. When the company approached us about a transaction, we immediately saw the strategic merit of the Dependable LTL division joining the platform. Additionally, we felt the entire Knight-Swift organization epitomized our core values of integrity, service, and diversity in every way. We could not have asked for a better steward of the business and look forward to watching the combined LTL business grow from here.”
