Knight-Swift Acquires 3PL UTXL In $22.5M Deal

The nation's largest truckload carrier, Knight-Swift Transportation KNX announced Tuesday the acquisition of Kansas City, Missouri-based third-party logistics provider UTXL in a $22.5 million transaction.

As a licensed broker for more than 20 years, UTXL specializes in full truckload, multi-stop, expedited and less-than-truckload shipments throughout North America. The company generated more than $100 million in revenue during 2020 with a low-90% operating ratio, according to the press release.

UTXL describes its financial profile as "lean, profitable, debt-free and self-financed" on its website.

The deal is meaningful to Knight-Swift's logistics unit, which reported $376 million in revenue with a 94.5% adjusted OR in 2020.

"The UTXL team's excellence in providing customer-specific solutions will be an invaluable complement to our Knight-Swift transportation service offerings," stated Dave Jackson, Knight-Swift CEO, in the press release. "Knight-Swift will support the UTXL brand and independent operations, consistent with previous acquisitions while leveraging technology and economies of scale to create synergies."

The final purchase price is subject to working capital adjustments and a potential earnout over the next two years.

"When the UTXL ownership group first discussed selling, we made it clear that the future of our people and the cultural fit would be imperative to further discussions with potential buyers," said Paul Schultz, UTXL CEO. "We are proud of our accomplishments at UTXL and excited for the opportunities that are ahead of us as we embark upon this journey with the Knight-Swift team."

Management from Knight-Swift has been more vocal this year regarding its appetite for acquisitions. The company acquired a majority stake in Eleos, a mobile driver workflow platform for fleets and operators, in February. 

Scudder Law Firm and Dinan Capital Advisors served as advisers to Knight-Swift.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden.

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