TransForce Wraps Purchase of Vitran

TransForce Inc. said it has completed its acquisition of Canadian less-than-truckload carrier Vitran Corp.

Vitran will remain a stand-alone business within the TransForce’s holdings, TransForce Chairman and CEO Alain Bédard said.

“The acquisition of Vitran will further enhance our density in the Canadian LTL market and provide synergies going forward,” he said in the March 26 announcement.

TransForce announced the merger agreement in December after its offer to buy Vitran for $6.50 per share topped an earlier $6-per-share bid from Manitoulin Transport Inc., another Canadian carrier.

Vitran’s shareholders approved the sale to TransForce in March.

Last year, Vitran sold its unprofitable U.S. LTL unit for $2 million to Michigan trucker Matthew Moroun but maintained its profitable Canadian operations.

TransForce, headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, ranks No. 8 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Toronto-based Vitran is No. 40.