Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., a trucking company based in Phoenix, is acquiring AAA Cooper Transportation of Dothan, Alabama in a deal valued at $1.35 billion, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Knight-Swift is the largest truckload carrier by revenue in the county, but the acquisition moves the company into the LTL (less than truckload) market for deliveries along the so-called "final mile" before a package reaches its destination.
The purchase price for AAA Cooper consisted of $1.3 billion in cash, $10 million in Knight-Swift shares and about $40 million in assumed debt. Knight-Swift said cash for the transaction came from a new $1.2 billion term loan from Bank of America in addition to existing liquidity.
The acquisition closed on July 5 and gave Knight-Swift 100% ownership of AAA Cooper. The company said the deal is expected to be accretive, or provide a boost, to Knight-Swift’s earnings in the third quarter.
