Wind Point Merges St. George Logistics and AZ Corporation
Wind Point merges two industry leaders providing national outsourced container freight station services and value-added warehousing solutions
Chicago, IL, October 17, 2016 – Wind Point Partners announced today that the holding company of St. George Logistics (“STG”), North America’s largest provider of outsourced container freight station (“CFS”) services and a leading provider of value-added warehousing and distribution solutions, has expanded its leading position in outsourced import/export services through the acquisition of AZ Corporation (“AZ”). Wind Point will merge STG and AZ.
Based in Linden, NJ, AZ is North America’s second largest provider of CFS services with leading share in export-oriented CFS. AZ also provides related services including value-added warehousing, distribution and transportation. Similar to STG, AZ’s core customer base includes the world’s top freight forwarders, neutral NVOCCs, retailers, consumer packaged goods companies and related businesses. AZ services its diverse client base out of nine port and inland facilities, with multiple locations at the ports of New York/New Jersey and Los Angeles/Long Beach as well as Chicago, Miami, Atlanta and Charleston.
Wind Point acquired STG in July 2016 in partnership with CEO Chris Jamroz and President and Chief Operating Officer Hessel Verhage. Jamroz most recently served as the President & Chief Operating Officer of GardaWorld Cash Logistics, a C$1.1 billion division of GardaWorld Security Corporation. Prior to STG, Verhage was the President of Global Freight Forwarding at UTi Worldwide, where he managed a $2.7 billion P&L.
“The acquisition fits perfectly with our vision of building North America’s premier provider of outsourced import/export and value-added warehouse and distribution supply chain services,” said Jamroz. “This combination will allow us to provide our customers with a comprehensive menu of import and export solutions, best-in-class service, access to the industry’s fastest and most efficient intermodal transportation network, and robust information technology. This is a significant transaction not only for STG and AZ but also for our customer base.”
Konrad Salaber, Principal with Wind Point, commented, “We are very excited to merge STG, North America’s largest import-oriented CFS provider, with AZ, the continent’s largest export-oriented CFS business. With 24 port and inland facilities totaling approximately four million square feet, a talented staff of more than 1,100 logistics professionals and a national network of more than 80 partner facilities, the combined business has unmatched scale and capabilities in outsourced CFS and a leading position in value added warehousing and related services.”
“Acquisitions will continue to be a key growth initiative as we enhance and expand the scope of services we provide to our core customer base,” added Verhage. “Our acquisition program will continue to focus on opportunities in ocean and air CFS, value-added warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment and related services in the large and growing import/export supply chain.”
Rich Lombardi, AZ President, stated, “My team and I are thrilled to partner with Chris, Hessel and the STG team. AZ has been active in the industry for almost 25 years and we prioritized working with a group who would continue our legacy of providing excellent service to our customers and a wonderful home for our employees. STG and Wind Point could not have made this merger easier, and we’re proud to call them partners as we embark on a new chapter in our company’s history.”
Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses with previous investments including Dicom Transportation Group, RailWorks Corporation and AIR-serv Group.
Financing for the transaction was provided by NewStar Financial, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Webster Financial,and Oaktree Capital Management. Kirkland & Ellis represented Wind Point as legal counsel. Einbinder Dunn & Goniea represented AZ as legal counsel and Silvergrove acted as financial advisor to AZ. KPMG provided transaction advisory services on the transaction.