Express-1 To Be Acquired By Equity Firm

Express-1 Expedited Solutions, a provider of brokerage and forwarding services, said it has scheduled a Sept. 1 shareholders’ meeting to approve a takeover by Jacobs Private Equity, a firm controlled by investor Bradley Jacobs.

The board of directors has recommended a vote in favor of acquisition, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The meeting will be in Buchanan, Mich.

Express-1, St. Joseph, Mich., publicly traded as XPO, said in the filings it has begun mailing proxy materials to shareholders. Express-1 agreed to be sold to the Greenwich, Conn., investment firm on June 14.

Jacobs, who will become CEO of Express-1, agreed to pay $75 million for about 43 million shares and another $75 million for warrants to buy about 43 million more shares. Jacobs Private Equity will provide $135 million, with another $15 million coming from co-investors.

Express-1 is one of the 10 largest air and expedited carriers in the United States and Canada, according to Transport Topics data.

Jacobs said he selected Express-1 after evaluating more than 100 companies and has plans for growth for what he will call XPO Logistics.

Jacobs has led construction equipment leasing company United Rentals and United Waste Systems, which was sold in 1997 for $2.5 billion. Earlier, Jacobs founded oil trading company Hamilton Resources Ltd. and oil brokerage Amerex Oil Associates.