Logistics giant DB Schenker announced that it will acquire all outstanding shares of fellow capacity solution provider USA Truck for $435 million.
USA Truck was founded in 1983 by Robert M. Powell, who served the company for twenty years, leading them to serve a huge customer base in North America. With more than 1,200 trucks in its fleet and 2,100 employees, USA Truck has partnerships with 36,000 active contract carriers, 20% of whom are in the Fortune 100. Their capacity solutions will be enveloped by DB Schenker, a German-owned logistics firm that is an arm of the German company Deutsche Bahn. With more than 76,000 employees and 1,850 locations across 130 countries, DB Schenker is a titan in the logistics business. DB Schenker's Land Transport Division in the Americas Region will add USA Truck's fleet and employees to their 10,000-member staff across 123 locations.
Shareholders approved the deal almost unanimously, with 6.4 million votes for the acquisition and only 10,000 against the proposal. However, voting on compensation for executives was substantially less unanimous, as only 4.9 million casted votes for and 1.6 million were cast against the proposal.
DB Schenker, in a statement about the deal, said that it hopes the USA Truck deal will massively increase its presence in North America. It hopes to use its international logistics knowledge to expand USA Truck's presence in the logistics industry and complement its already thriving air transport services and ocean gateways. James Reed, President and Chief Executive Officer of USA Truck, said in a press release that he was thrilled to have a partner that appreciates and values USA Truck's history and will build on its 40 years of history. Joe Jaska, DB Schenker's Executive Vice President of Land Transport, Americas Region, credited USA Truck's employees with ensuring the company's past successes and emphasized that they will be an integral part of the team moving forward.
