Truckload carrier US Xpress Enterprises Inc. said yesterday it plans to file for an initial public offering, the latest big trucker to shed its privately held status.
The offering would float the company's "class A" shares, it said in a statement. The Chattanooga-based carrier declined comment beyond the limited information in the statement, citing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Reuters reported yesterday that the offering would raise about $100 million, and that post-IPO there would be two classes of stock: A and B. The shares would trade under the ticker symbol "USX," Reuters reported.
US Xpress was founded in 1985 by Max L. Fuller and Pat Quinn. It went public in 1994 but was then taken private in 2007 by Fuller and Quinn in a management-led buyout. Quinn died in 2011. Fuller is the company's executive chairman. His son Eric is its president and CEO.
The company does not disclose its revenue figures, but it said on its website that it surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue faster than any truckload carrier in history. It operates 7,000 tractors and 15,500 trailers.
In April 2017, Schneider National Inc., another big truckload and logistics company with a strong bloodline, went public at between $18 to $19 a share. The offering was well-timed given the industry's improving price fundamentals, which have only strengthened in the past year and are likely to remain solid through 2018. Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider was valued at about $3.3 billion at the time of its offering. Its market capitalization today stands at about $4.87 billion. Shares were priced at $27.87 a share at the close of today's trading.
One key difference between US Xpress and Schneider is that Fuller family members are still deeply involved in US Xpress, whereas none of the Schneider family members were actively involved in its operations when it went public. One of the goals of the Schneider IPO was to monetize the value of the family's vast holdings.
Most of the large truckload carriers are publicly traded. Other than US Xpress, Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based CRST and Salt Lake City-based C.R. England Inc. are two big truckload carriers that remain in private hands.
