Knight Transportation — the Phoenix-based trucking giant — has purchased Barr-Nunn Transportatio, a dry van truckload carrier based in Des Moines, Iowa, for $112.4 million, according to a company news release.
The move expands Knight’s profile in the Eastern US by allowing it to take over Barr-Nunn’s leased facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Between August 2013 and August 2014, Barr-Nunn generated about $119.8 million in total revenue, $26.0 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and $14.0 million in operating income.
The company was founded in 1982 by the Sturgeon family as a dry van truckload operator. At the time of its acquisition, it had 550 tractors and 1,830 trailers and served manufacturers and users of consumer products, paper products, food products and ingredients, plastics and rubber building materials, appliances, hardware, castings, and animal feeds, among other products.
Jim Updike, Knight’s executive VP for sales and marketing, said the move allows the company to access substantial capital resources for growth.
“Barr-Nunn has a strong niche in the expedited and highly scheduled marketplace, as well as a substantial presence in most eastern markets,” Updike wrote in a letter to investors.
Barr-Nunn will continue to operate as a separate company under its existing operating authority with its customer contracts and agreements remaining in effect.