Roadrunner CEO Jamroz, Partner Buy Majority Stake in Carrier
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A private equity vehicle led by Roadrunner Freight CEO Chris Jamroz bought a majority ownership stake in the less-than-truckload carrier from Elliott Investment Management for an undisclosed sum.
Jamroz, the carrier’s CEO since November 2019, teamed up with Ted Kellner for the purchase from the hedge fund, which will retain a minority stake in Roadrunner. Kellner is the founder of asset manager Fiduciary Management.
With control of the carrier wrapped up, Jamroz expects to expand the company’s operations, including through mergers and acquisitions, he said in a Nov. 22 statement.
“After comprehensively unwinding the prior management’s roll-up strategy to get to a pure-play LTL network, Roadrunner now stands as a premium longhaul carrier,” Jamroz said.
Jamroz
“Today marks the beginning of our growth phase, driven by new capital, strategic investments and acquisitions. We’re committed to organic expansion as well as pursuing focused and opportunistic M&A to strengthen our market position,” he added.
Roadrunner Freight ranks No. 78 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and is No. 18 on the LTL list. Before the divestments, it ranked in the top 20 on the for-hire list.
Roadrunner sold flatbed unit D&E Transport and its intermodal division in 2019.
In 2020, the company sold three truckload units — Rich Logistics, Integrated Services and Roadrunner Temperature Controlled — and its Prime Distribution Services business. C.H. Robinson bought the Prime Distribution Services business for $225 million in January 2020.
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Then, Ascent Global Logistics was spun off in August 2020. Ascent now ranks No. 38 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. A unit of H.I.G. Capital bought the business in August 2023.
Since the sales were completed, Roadrunner has been revamping its LTL network.
In January, the company began operating service into Portland, Ore., and service to Toronto and Montreal via Detroit. Roadrunner also added 135 lanes to its network, following new market openings in Las Vegas, Denver, Kansas City, Mo., and Richmond, Va.
Roadrunner also sought to win new business in October 2023 by offering free LTL delivery if the shipment does not arrive on the promised date. The Smart Guarantee LTL delivery option was launched on 30 lanes initially, although it costs 25% more than regular loads.
The many divestments came after Roadrunner made over two dozen acquisitions between 2010 and 2017, before Elliott took control following the dismissal of several executives, one of whom was convicted for violating securities laws in 2021.
