Auto hauler Proficient grows with acquisition of Pennsylvania company

Auto hauler Proficient Auto Logistics has made its second acquisition since it became a publicly traded company almost a year ago.

Proficient (NASDAQ: PAL) said Wednesday it had acquired Pennsylvania-based Brothers Auto Transport LLC. In its announcement, Proficient said the company was a “well-established carrier” based in Wind Gap, which is in the northeast part of the Keystone State. 

The first acquisition made by Proficient after it began trading publicly was in August when it bought ATG. That purchase was for $28.9 million, according to Proficient’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing at the time. The deal brought 76 tractors and an equal number of trailers into Proficient’s operations.

The purchase price of Brothers Auto was not disclosed. As of Wednesday, Proficient had not filed an 8-K report on the acquisition with the SEC.

However, Richard O’Dell, CEO of Proficient, said in a prepared statement that the acquisition was smaller than other transactions the company had completed. Proficient was created last year through the rollup of five auto haulers, led by the predecessor Proficient Auto Transport.

“This acquisition is an important milestone in our growth strategy,” O’Dell said in the statement. “Brothers Auto Transport has built a well-run, profitable business with deep-rooted OEM relationships. The operational and geographic synergies between our companies will allow us to provide a higher level of service to our customers while elevating our presence in the Northeast.”

Don Carney, one of the owners of Brothers, said the acquisition would “allow Brothers to leverage additional resources, expand reach, and continue delivering the high-quality service customers expect.”

Proficient went public May 9, 2024, at $15. It reached a high close of $20.49 on Aug. 14. Its lowest intraday price since the IPO was $7.82 on February 7, according to Barchart. Wednesday’s close of $9.04 a share marked an increase of 10.38% from Tuesday’s closing price.    

The acquisition comes just days after Proficient filed its first-ever annual 10-K report with the SEC. While some of the data in the report was also in its prospectus before the company’s IPO, the 10-K gives the opportunity for an update.

• The customer base is “diverse,” but four customers – General Motors, Glovis (described as the logistics arm of Hyundai and Kia), BMW and Ford – accounted for about 49.6% of the company’s revenue last year.

• Most contracts are three to five years, but there has been movement toward five-to-10-year contracts.

• There are 125 contracts in which Proficient is a party, with no one contract covering more than 7% of total 2024 revenue.

• Proficient’s fleet at the end of 2024 was “roughly” 1,145 tractors and trailers. 

• At the end of 2024, Proficient had 671 employees. It also has a network of independent owner-operators who haul for the company. It stressed that none of the employees are unionized, a point Proficient has made since it started operating. That distinction was driven home by the collapse earlier this year of rival auto hauler Jack Cooper.

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