CH Robinson completes PDS deal

CH Robinson recently finalized the $225 million acquisition of Prime Distribution Services, a provider of retail consolidation and value-added warehouse services in North America, from Roadrunner Transportation.

The addition expands CH Robinson’s retail consolidation business and brings additional scale, capabilities and expertise to its portfolio, the company said. CH Robinson financed the acquisition and related fees and expenses with cash on hand and funds drawn from its existing credit facilities.

“We are excited about the combination of Prime and CH Robinson,” said Bob Biesterfeld, chief executive officer of CH Robinson. “We welcome our new colleagues at Prime to the team, and we look forward to the work we will do together to provide excellent service to our combined set of customers and carriers.”

Prime will be integrated into CH Robinson’s North American Surface Transportation division, and the company said it expects the transaction to be slightly accretive to earnings in 2020.

“This is an exciting day for Prime as we bring together the capabilities and incredible talent of CH Robinson and Prime to create a leading retail consolidation platform,” said Bill Vechiarella, president of Prime Distribution Services. “I would like to thank all of our employees for their continued dedication to our customers and carriers.”

Roadrunner said it used the proceeds from the sale to pay off borrowings under its ABL and Term Loan Credit facilities.

“We believe our stronger balance sheet will position us to invest in our remaining businesses and pursue additional value-creation opportunities,” said Curt Stoelting, CEO of Roadrunner. “We remain focused on improving operating performance, generating attractive returns on invested capital and building long-term shareholder value.”