Omni Holdings, Wind Point Partners Announce Acquisition
Private companies Omni Holdings and Wind Point Partners announced acquisitions as the week began, including Omni’s purchase of Tennant Truck Line’s flatbed assets and Wind Point’s move to acquire international freight business St. George Logistics to enter the logistics industry.
Both Illinois-based buyers didn’t disclose terms. Omni is operating Omni Specialized, incorporating the Tennant assets, acquired from Earl L. Henderson Trucking, based in the St. Louis area. Omni Specialized, with terminals in Baltimore and Wichita, Kansas, is offering a range of flatbed as well as overdimensional and specialized services.
The van business of Tennant will continue operations as a separate company. Tennant has been operating out of Colona, Illinois, for seven decades. Tennant’s van business will continue to be headed by Josh Kaburick. Kaburick also heads Earl L. Henderson, which acquired Tennant last year.
Omni Specialized’s President Thomas Witt said the acquisition expanded Omni’s services, which also include services at port cities.
“This is our first step in establishing a platform from which to grow both organically and through acquisition,” Witt said. “By acquiring the flatbed assets of Tennant Truck Lines and hiring many of its employees and drivers, we are able to immediately meet the shipping needs of customers.”
Omni, which didn’t disclose its fleet size, said in a statement that its services also include logistics. Industry veteran Earl Coleman will be in charge of finances, according to the statement.
St. George Logistics, based in Kearny, New Jersey, was sold by three private equity companies: Long Point Capital Investors, LongueVue Capital and Ironwood Capital. St. George operates container freight stations, warehousing and distribution facilities that process both international ocean and air shipments, including in-bond cargo. Its network includes 15 facilities in port areas with 2.2 million square feet of space for warehousing. There are an additional 66 facilities that are partners with St. George, providing customs-related services at inland locations.
Wind Point created a holding company to own St. George. The holding company is headed by CEO Chris Jamroz and Hessel Verhage, the president. Both Jamroz and Verhage are investors in the holding company. St. George’s management, including CEO Denis Reilly, is remaining with the company, Wind Point Partner Konrad Salaber told Transport Topics.
Wind Point also owns Montreal-based Dicom Transportation Group, which ranks No. 75 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Salaber said there could be opportunities for synergy between those holdings, with Dicom moving freight that is handled by St. George.
“We are excited to acquire STG in partnership with Chris and Hessel, two top-caliber global executives," Salaber said. "We look forward to their collaboration with the outstanding management team at STG.”
Jamroz was president of GardaWorld Cash Services and is a former investment banker. Verhage is a former vice president at UTi Worldwide, the company that ranked No. 9 on TT’s Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, until it was acquired earlier this year by Denmark-based DSV A/S.
