Stonepeak, an alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, acquired Fleet Companies, a regional trailer dealership and leasing company. Fleet will serve as the seed asset for a multi-faceted national trailer platform that Stonepeak plans to build out through additional acquisitions and greenfield operations across the United States.
The investment follows Stonepeak’s long-held thesis around and extensive experience in transportation-focused asset leasing businesses, including TRAC Intermodal (marine chassis leasing) and Textainer (container leasing), along with Air Transport Services Group (aircraft leasing), which Stonepeak entered definitive documentation to acquire earlier this month.
“We view trailer leasing as an attractive sector and a strong fit for our investment strategy, given its essentiality to the transport supply chain, durable industry growth and history of delivering solid returns on assets throughout economic cycles,” James Wyper, senior managing director and head of transportation and logistics at Stonepeak, said.
“Fleet is a high-quality operator with strong customer relationships,” Graham Brown, managing director at Stonepeak, said. “We have full confidence in John Wilbur and Erek Starnes, two industry veterans with whom we are partnering to grow this platform, and are optimistic about Fleet’s ability to continue to grow and deliver for its customers.”
“We are excited to partner with Stonepeak and tap into their deep industry expertise, operational support and broad capital base,” John Wilbur, CEO, and Erek Starnes, president and chief operating officer of Fleet, jointly said. “We look forward to prioritizing our customers’ experience by expanding our fleet, upgrading our systems and leveraging our highly experienced team. This transaction positions us well to become an industry leader with a hyper focus on customer satisfaction. We look forward to working with the Stonepeak team to take Fleet into a new chapter of growth.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the transaction has already closed. Sidley Austin and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison served as legal counsel to Stonepeak. Jefferies served as financial advisor to Stonepeak. Evans Petree served as legal counsel to Fleet.
