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Huron Capital’s Direct Connect Logistix Continues National Expansion with Acquisition of Hoosier Logistics
DETROIT, Mich. (April 5, 2022) — Leading middle-market private equity firm Huron Capital Partners (“Huron Capital”) announced today that it has acquired Tipton Holding Group (“Tipton”), the parent company of Hoosier Logistics (“Hoosier”) with plans to merge the company with its third-party transportation and logistics services platform, Direct Connect Logistix (“DCL”).
The acquisition of Hoosier Logistics further supports DCL’s strategy to expand its North American transportation management platform and become one of the top 3PLs in the United States.
Indianapolis-based Hoosier, founded in 2015 by Rob Likens and Nick Likens, is a freight brokerage company with specialization in temperature-controlled transportation services for the food and beverage market. By joining together, Hoosier and DCL will significantly increase their ability to serve customers across North America.
“We will immediately gain substantial scale and resources from this transaction and will benefit from Hoosier’s roster of blue-chip food and beverage customers,” DCL CEO Richard Piontek, who will lead the combined company, said. “We look forward to integrating Hoosier’s experienced management team into our operations and expect the combination will strengthen our service offerings, enlarge our customer base and foster additional national growth.”
Both Hoosier Logistics CEO Rob Likens and COO Nick Likens will remain at the combined company, with Nick joining the DCL management team and Rob overseeing the asset-based truckload division.
“As we talked extensively with Rich at DCL about this powerful business combination, we became convinced that DCL shares our corporate values and has a plan that will benefit our employees and our customers as we grow together,” Rob and Nick Likens said. “We have worked hard over the past seven years to build Hoosier into what it is today and believe that joining with DCL will help all of us achieve our collective goals.”
The transaction comes just a few weeks after DCL’s acquisition of Performance Logistics, a cold chain focused freight brokerage in Salt Lake City, Utah. With operations in the Midwest and Mountain West, as well as Texas, the addition of Hoosier provides the combined company with a larger regional and national presence, along with a customer base that will drive additional organic growth.
“DCL is positioned squarely in the middle of a freight brokerage market that we believe will continue to grow quickly over the coming years,” Huron Capital Partner Matt Lacki said. “This acquisition, in addition to immediately adding new customers and greater volume, will help the combined company expand into new markets as it pursues additional acquisition targets.”
Republic Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Hoosier Logistics, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Huron Capital
Founded in Detroit in 1999, Huron Capital is an operationally focused private equity platform with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor® buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. An early pioneer of the buy-and-build approach, Huron Capital has successfully established six private equity funds aggregating nearly $2.0 billion in committed capital and invested in over 240 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital invests control equity in fundamentally sound companies that can benefit from the firm’s operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital focuses on niche segments within commercial & industrial services, professional services, and the consumer services sectors. For more information, please visit: www.huroncapital.com.
About Direct Connect Logistix
Direct Connect Logistix (“DCL”) is a leading, non-asset based, multi-modal third-party logistics company providing transportation solutions for customers of all sizes. Since its founding in 2009, DCL has provided specialized freight brokerage services with a strategic focus on temperature-controlled, time and condition critical market segments, including Food, Grocery, Beverage, and related industries.
DCL’s unique Hustle culture has fueled its growth by defining how the company serves its customers, carriers, investors, employees, and the community at large by providing high performance logistics management solutions that enable sustainable, responsive, and efficient customer supply chains. For more information, please visit: www.dclogistix.com.
About Hoosier Logistics
Founded in 2015, Indianapolis based Hoosier Logistics’ mission is to be an industry-leading logistics and supply chain services provider that provides customers, carriers, and employees with the opportunity to overcome obstacles by using strength, hard work, and cutting-edge technology. For the past seven years, Hoosier has carried out that mission by delivering premium logistics solutions that meet and exceed customer requirements. For more information, please visit: hoosierlogistics.net.
Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
