CHARLOTTE (July 27, 2021) — Ridgemont Equity Partners, a buyout and growth equity investor, today announced its investment in the combination of Worldwide Express, LLC and GlobalTranz Enterprises, LLC, both leading non-asset based providers of third-party logistics solutions, in a transaction led by CVC Capital Partners, Providence Equity Partners, PSG and the management teams of both Worldwide Express and GlobalTranz. In 2015, Ridgemont invested in Unishippers Global Logistics and subsequently led a transaction in 2017 in partnership with Worldwide Express management to merge Unishippers into Worldwide Express to create the leading provider of logistics services to small-and-medium sized shippers. Going forward, Ridgemont will retain a meaningful stake in the combined entity formed through the combination of Worldwide Express with GlobalTranz. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The combined company will have market-leading offerings in parcel, less-than-truckload, full truckload and managed transportation delivered through proprietary technology. It will continue to go to market both directly and indirectly via franchisees and independent freight agents and serve a customer landscape that spans from small and medium sized businesses to larger enterprises. Together, it will also have unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities to provide its customers with visibility and analytics to drive competitive advantages.
“I am excited to combine Worldwide Express and GlobalTranz,” said Tom Madine. “The opportunities for growth by uniting our resources will dramatically increase our ability to drive technology, further strengthen our carrier partnerships and allow us to provide a deeper offering to our customers. The opportunities for our employees, franchises and independent agents are now greatly expanded. I tremendously appreciate the strong partnership we have had with Ridgemont and am excited to work with CVC and Providence as we continue to build Worldwide Express into a much larger business.”
“Worldwide Express has achieved remarkable growth over the last several years and is uniquely positioned in the third-party logistics market,” said Rob Edwards, Managing Partner at Ridgemont. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Tom Madine and the expanded team and look forward to joining forces with GlobalTranz and this experienced investor group.”
“Under our partnership with Tom Madine and the leadership team at Worldwide Express, we have successfully supported the company in several strategic growth initiatives, including strategic M&A, a franchise consolidation strategy, and the build-out and implementation of a new, proprietary technology platform,” said Charles Anderson, Partner at Ridgemont. “Combining with GlobalTranz is a very logical next chapter for Worldwide Express, and we are pleased to remain invested in the combined platform.”
Harris Williams and J.P. Morgan served as financial advisors to Worldwide Express and legal services were provided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
About GlobalTranz
GlobalTranz is a full-service third-party logistics provider, bringing award-winning customer service, exceptional industry expertise and market-leading technology to shippers, carriers, and logistics service providers. GlobalTranz’s people-powered approach combined with comprehensive, relationship-driven support provides shippers of all sizes with fast and reliable, multi-modal transportation services as well as strategic supply chain solutions – enabling them to optimize efficiency and deliver on business goals. Leveraging its extensive independent agent network, GlobalTranz has emerged as a fast-growing market leader with a customer base of over 1 million product users and 25,000 shippers. www.globaltranz.com