American Fast Freight acquires Grand Worldwide Logistics

Transportation and logistics provider American Fast Freight Inc. (AFF) has acquired Grand Worldwide Logistics Corp. (GWW), expanding its coverage area beyond the core regions of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico, AFF announced Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said that GWW President Dave Schulman will continue to have an advisory role.

Fife, Wash.-based AFF is the largest U.S. domestic ocean freight forwarder specializing in less-than-container-load freight shipments, the company says. The firm is jointly owned by its own management team and by The Resolute Fund II LP, a private equity fund managed by The Jordan Company LP.

By acquiring Chicago-based GWW, AFF will add logistics facilities in the Midwest, Southeast, and mid-Atlantic regions to its platform, the firm said.

GWW is a warehouse and third-party logistics (3PL) company serving the beverage and spirits, food, and paper industries. Through the deal, AFF will obtain that business, as well as GWW's customers, management team, more than two million square feet of warehouse space, and over 150 rail spots, the companies said.

The acquisition marks the latest effort by AFF to expand its coverage area, following the acquisition of Caribbean Shipping Services in 2015 and Global Transportation Services in 2016, AFF President and CEO Kevin Kelly said in a statement.