Holding to its strategy of adding drivers and customers through acquisitions, the trucking arm of Celadon Group Inc. (CGI) has purchased “select assets” of the truckload business of Tango Transport LLC, CGI reported Thursday. Shreveport, LA-based Tango generated approximately $90 million in gross revenue in 2014, the announcement said. Terms of the deal were not revealed. Tango has more than 800 trucks, according to federal carrier data.
"We are delighted with the Tango acquisition and expect it to fulfill one of our immediate goals of continuing to grow our business with our existing customer base by adding density in our primary traffic lanes and gaining experienced drivers,” Celadon Chairman and CEO Paul Will said. “Based on our evaluation of the business, we believe Tango has quality customers and drivers, with the majority of their customers overlapping our current customer base. We expect to integrate the acquired operations promptly.”
Celadon plans to integrate the Tango operations “promptly,” the company stated, adding that the integration will focus on optimizing the combined customer, driver and equipment base to improve asset productivity.
“We believe we can enhance the service to Tango's former customers through an upgraded equipment fleet, excellent technology, more available assets for dispatch and an outstanding safety record,” Will said.
CGI expects the acquired operations to benefit the bottom line beginning in the December 2015 quarter.
After closing at $16.00 Thursday, CGI shares are trading near a 52-week low, down from a high of $29.15 in late March. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the company reported revenue of $901 million, up from $759 the previous year, with freight revenue up 25%.
