Wind Point Partners, a Chicago‐based private equity firm, announced May 7 that it has acquired A&R Logistics.
Based in Louisville KY, A&R Logistics is one of North America’s largest provider of integrated dry bulk logistics solutions for the chemical and plastic industries. A&R provides a comprehensive suite of services including transportation, warehousing, packaging, and fully outsourced logistics management for many of the world’s largest producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics.
The Company operates a national infrastructure of nearly 50 facilities, one of the largest fleets of specialized tractors and pneumatic bulk trailers, and a leading technology suite customized for dry bulk transportation.
Wind Point will be partnering with the A&R management team, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Holden, who joined the Company in 2012. Holden is a veteran executive in the logistics space, previously leading four separate investments to a successful sale or IPO.
Holden’s most recent role prior to A&R was as President and CEO of Prime Distribution Services, a non‐asset based provider of logistics and freight consolidation services. Mr. Holden and the entire management team will remain with the business and retain a meaningful ownership stake in the Company alongside Wind Point.
Konrad Salaber, managing director at Wind Point, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Mark Holden and the A&R team as they lead the Company into a new phase of growth. We look forward to supporting a robust value creation plan that includes expanding A&R’s domestic infrastructure, aggressively growing export supply chain solutions in the Ports of Charleston and Savannah, and completing acquisitions to enhance the Company’s scale and scope of service.”
Holden added: “We are excited to have Wind Point as our partner for a number of reasons, key among them a deep knowledge of the logistics space and a reputation for strong collaboration with the management teams they sponsor.
“We are very excited to work with Wind Point to grow A&R Logistics, and we see significant opportunities ahead for our company, customers, employees, and partners as we grow the business organically and through acquisition.”
A&R’s organic growth strategy for the domestic dry bulk plastics market will focus on expanding its market‐leading transportation infrastructure and national network of value‐added warehouse facilities. In addition, A&R will aggressively support its customers’ growing needs for export solutions by establishing what will become among the nation’s largest and most flexible export networks for plastic resins.
A&R plans to launch multiple new facilities totaling at least two million square feet in the Ports of Charleston and Savannah to support the packaging and export of numerous resins including polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene, among others.
A&R’s acquisition strategy will focus on acquiring companies that provide dry bulk transportation and warehousing services to producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics. In addition, A&R will seek to expand through acquisition into complementary services, including liquid chemical supply chain services.
Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics, and route‐based businesses, with select prior investments including Dicom Transportation, St George Logistics, Valicor Environmental Services, RailWorks and AIR‐serv.
Debt financing for the transaction will be provided by Antares Capital, Bain Capital, First Eagle Investment Management, and Varagon Capital. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Wind Point. KPMG LLP provided transaction advisory services in connection with the transaction.