ABF Logistics Acquires Bear Transportation Services

FORT SMITH, Ark., Dec. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ABF Logistics^SM, an ArcBest company (Nasdaq: ARCB), today announced it has acquired Bear Transportation Services, L.P., a private, non-asset truckload brokerage firm headquartered in Plano, Texas, effective today, for cash of $26.0 million, subject to normal post-closing adjustments.

Bear Transportation Services has more than 140 employees located in Plano and Fayetteville, Arkansas. The company, founded in 1982, has approximately $120 million in annual revenue, serving a variety of industry segments.

"This company is an excellent fit for ABF Logistics, as we believe the purchase will drive growth and profitability by combining our vision, brand and customer relationships with Bear's deep pool of experienced sales and operations team members," said ABF Logistics President Jim Ingram. "We have admired the Bear organization for years and have been impressed with the skillsets and innovative IT concepts we have seen in action."

ABF Logistics has experienced rapid growth since it was formed in 2013. This acquisition is the second of the year for the company after its purchase of Oklahoma City-based Smart Lines Transportation Group in January 2015.

"We are pleased to find a strategic buyer with a strong culture and a clear growth plan," said Mike Loehr, a principal owner of Bear Transportation. "Our employees and our customers will benefit from the resources and solutions ABF Logistics and the broader ArcBest organization will provide."

As an ArcBest company, ABF Logistics helps customers solve supply chain needs through a variety of third-party services. ArcBest has previously stated its strategy to grow its logistics businesses both organically and through acquisitions that add scale to existing services.

ABOUT ABF LOGISTICS
ABF Logistics provides third-party logistics services including brokerage, intermodal, and ocean transport, transportation management, warehousing and household moving. We have the skill and the will to build and deliver seamless, customized supply chain solutions powered by advanced technology with access through a single point of contact. 

ABOUT ARCBEST
ArcBest Corporation℠ (Nasdaq: ARCB) solves complex logistics and transportation challenges. Our companies and brands – ABF Freight^SM, ABF Logistics^SM, Panther Premium Logistics^®, FleetNet America^®, U-Pack^® and ArcBest Technologies – apply the skill and the will with every shipment and supply chain solution, household move or vehicle repair. ArcBest finds a way.

For more information, visit arcb.com, abf.com, pantherpremium.com, fleetnetamerica.com and upack.com. ArcBest Corporation℠. The Skill & The Will℠.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements and information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "foresee," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "scheduled," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect on us. Although management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable, as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we anticipate. Our forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and management's present expectations or projections. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions and related shifts in market demand that impact the performance and needs of industries served by ArcBest Corporation's subsidiaries and/or limit our customers' access to adequate financial resources; unfavorable terms of, or the inability to reach agreement on, future collective bargaining agreements or a workforce stoppage by our employees covered under ABF Freight's collective bargaining agreement; relationships with employees, including unions; union and nonunion employee wages and benefits, including changes in required contributions to multiemployer pension plans; competitive initiatives, pricing pressures, the effect of volatility in fuel prices and the associated changes in fuel surcharges on securing increases in base freight rates and the inability to collect fuel surcharges; availability of fuel; default on covenants of financing arrangements and the availability and terms of future financing arrangements; availability and cost of reliable third-party services; disruptions or failures of services essential to the operation of our business or the use of information technology platforms in our business; timing and amount of capital expenditures, increased prices for and decreased availability of new revenue equipment and decreases in value of used revenue equipment; future costs of operating expenses such as maintenance and fuel and related taxes; self-insurance claims and insurance premium costs; governmental regulations and policies, including environmental laws and regulations; potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; the impact of our brands and corporate reputation; the cost, timing and performance of growth initiatives; the cost, integration and performance of any future acquisitions; the costs of continuing investments in technology, a failure of our information systems and the impact of cyber incidents; weather conditions; and other financial, operational and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in ArcBest Corporation's Securities and Exchange Commission public filings. 

For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results, please see our filings with SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. 

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE ArcBest Corporation

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