Gryphon Investors Announces Majority Investment In Transportation Insight

New Platform for Gryphon is Growing Market Leader In Asset-Lite Transportation & Logistics

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Sep 04, 2018, 07:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO and HICKORY, N.C., Sept. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Gryphon Investors ("Gryphon"), a San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced today that it has made a majority investment in Transportation Insight, LLC ("Transportation Insight" or "the Company"), a leading asset-lite provider of enterprise logistics and transportation brokerage services. Paul Thompson, Founder and Chairman of Transportation Insight, and Chris Baltz, CEO, will retain a significant ownership position and continue in their day-to-day management of the Company. Wes Lucas, Operations Partner at Gryphon Investors and former CEO of SIRVA, Inc., one of the largest transportation businesses in the United States, will join the Board as its Executive Chairman. Gryphon replaces Charlotte-based private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners as the majority owner. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999 and based in Hickory, NC, Transportation Insight is a North American-focused provider of tech-enabled enterprise logistics and freight brokerage solutions. The Company currently helps manage approximately $4 billion of annual transportation-related spend for over 1,500 enterprise logistics and brokerage clients, with expertise across a range of industries and end markets. Transportation Insight's blended technology platform of proprietary and class-leading solutions enables clients to optimize their transportation networks, reduce their transportation costs, ensure on-time deliveries, and optimize their complex supply chains.

Mr. Thompson commented, "The Transportation Insight team is very excited to partner with Gryphon as we think about the next stage of the Company's growth and the significant market opportunity available. We look forward to building our business both organically and through acquisitions, while continuing to deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers over the coming years."

Mr. Baltz added, "Gryphon is the perfect partner at this time given their longstanding interest in our sector and deep expertise in industrials, transportation, and logistics. With their support, we will dominate the North American transportation logistics space."

Mr. Lucas said, "We were attracted to Transportation Insight's strong value-proposition and market-leading position in providing highly-differentiated enterprise logistics and brokerage solutions. The Company is well-positioned to benefit from continued trends boosting the sector's growth, including increasingly complex supply chains, sustained growth in ecommerce and omni-channel fulfillment, and a shift toward outsourced supply chain management among businesses globally."

Bob Grady, Gryphon Partner and Head of the firm's Industrial Growth Group, added, "Our investment in Transportation Insight aligns well with our focus on partnering with companies that are benefiting from strong macroeconomic tailwinds and that have clear opportunities to achieve above-market growth when supported by Gryphon's unique partnership strategy. We are excited to partner with such a high-quality business led by an exceptional, purpose-driven management team."

Felix Park, Principal in Gryphon's Industrial Growth Group, stated, "Paul, Chris, and the entire management team have built a first-class business, and we look forward to working closely with management to support Transportation Insight's growth through a number of strategic initiatives."

Harris Williams & Company acted as the financial advisor to Transportation Insight and BB&T Capital Markets acted as the financial advisor to Gryphon.

About Transportation Insight, LLC
Transportation Insight is a multi-modal, lead logistics provider with approximately $4 billion of annual transportation-related spend under management. For nearly 20 years, the Enterprise Logistics Solutions Provider has partnered with manufacturers, retailers and distributors to achieve significant cost savings, reduce cycle times, and improve customer satisfaction rates by providing customized supply chain solutions. Transportation Insight offers a Co-managed Logistics® form of 3PL, carrier sourcing, freight bill audit and payment services, state-of-the-art transportation management system (TMS) applications, parcel technology platform (audit, engineering, advanced analytics), and business intelligence. For more about Transportation Insight, visit www.transportationinsight.com.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. For 23 consecutive quarters, Gryphon has been ranked in Preqin's prestigious quarterly PE report as one of North America's top-decile buyout firms based on consistency of strong investment returns. Managing over $4 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997, the firm has an extensive track record of leading equity investments of $50 million to $200 million per portfolio company with sales ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon's capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

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SOURCE Gryphon Investors