C.H. Robinson to buy Freightquote.com
Freightquote.com is one of the largest internet-based freight brokers in the United States and makes more than 1 million shipments across North America every year.
C.H. Robinson said it would likely increase its existing revolving credit facility to finance the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
Freightquote.com, founded by Tim Barton in 1998, has annual revenue of more than $600 million and operates truckload, less-than-truckload, expedited services and intermodal freight businesses, according to its website.
The deal will be C.H. Robinson's third since 2012, when the third-party logistics provider bought Phoenix International and Apreo Logistics.
Although C.H. Robinson has not been particularly acquisitive, merger activity in the U.S. logistics industry has picked up in recent years.
C.H. Robinson, which has a market capitalization of nearly $11 billion, had cash and equivalents of $127.7 million as of Sept. 30, according to regulatory filings.
Analysts expect the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company's revenue to rise about 5 percent to $13.45 billion for the year ending Dec. 31, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Source: reuters.com
