Knight-Swift buys MME for $150m

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PRESS RELEASE 

Knight-Swift Expands Its Less-Than-Truckload Footprint in 15 States Through the Acquisition of Midwest Motor Express

December 06, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On Monday, December 6, 2021, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX) (“Knight-Swift,” the “Company,” “We,” or “Our”), through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, acquired 100% of RAC MME Holdings, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which operate under the brand names of Midwest Motor Express, Inc. and Midnite Express Inc. (together, “MME”). Prior to the acquisition, MME’s equity interests were held by an ownership group, including Red Arts Capital, Prudential Capital Partners, and Brightwood Capital Advisors.

Founded over 100 years ago, MME provides less-than-truckload (“LTL”), full truckload, and specialized and international logistics transportation services to a diverse customer base in its service territory in the upper midwestern and great northwestern regions of the United States. The MME regional footprint complements our current southeastern and midwestern LTL presence alongside our AAA Cooper Transportation (“ACT”) brand, which together cover over half of the United States.

The MME acquisition reflects progress on our ongoing commitment to building a nationwide LTL footprint, leading to the further diversification of our revenue streams.The transaction is expected to be $0.06 accretive to our Adjusted EPS1 in 2022. On a longer-term basis, we have identified potential areas of revenue and cost synergies that are expected to lead to growth and margin expansion consistent with our return-on-investment targets while preserving MME’s brand, locations, people, and culture.

Knight-Swift CEO, Dave Jackson, expressed the following, “We are excited to welcome MME to the Knight-Swift organization. MME is our next step toward a nationwide LTL network. While preserving and supporting MME’s identity and culture, we expect to bring many synergies from Knight-Swift. MME and ACT have minimal regional overlap, and we expect they will be a benefit to one another.”Marlin Kling, President and CEO of MME, noted, “We believe that combining our company with North America’s truckload industry leader, Knight-Swift, and being part of building the next nationwide LTL network is an exciting development for MME and its employees. We look forward to achieving synergies, sharing best practices, and creating value for all Knight-Swift stakeholders.”

About MME

MME is expected to generate approximately $137 million in revenue, $27 million in Adjusted EBITDA1, and $16 million in operating income for full-year 2021. MME serves its blue-chip customer list through a network of over 30 service centers with a door count of approximately 800, strategically located across the upper midwestern and great northwestern United States. Service is provided to customers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada through affiliations with leading regional and national LTL companies. The MME fleet includes approximately 460 tractors and 930 trailers. MME has approximately 800 highly skilled and efficient associates and was ranked 26th on Transport Topics’ list of top LTL carriers in 20212.

About the Transaction

The purchase price consideration included $150 million in cash at the closing date of the transaction.

The transaction was funded through cash-on-hand and borrowing on the Company’s revolving credit facility.MME is a C corporation for tax purposes.To view the presentation accompanying this release, please visit https://investor.knight-swift.com/overview/, “Knight-Swift Acquires LTL Carrier Midwest Motor Express (MME).”

Advisors

Scudder Law Firm, P.C., L.L.O. of Lincoln, Nebraska, served as Knight-Swift’s transaction and legal advisor. MME’s advisors were Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated for transactional services, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP for legal services.

About Knight-Swift:Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America’s largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple truckload transportation and logistics services, as well as LTL services.

Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the United States and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America…

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Contacts

David Jackson, President and CEO, or Adam Miller, CFO — (602) 606-6349