$5bn Arizona trucking merger announced
Phoenix-based trucking companies Swift Transportation and Knight Transportation are set to merge in a $5bn deal that will create the industry's largest full-truckload trucking firm. Following the merger, the combined companies will trade as Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, with existing facilities and operations continuing. In a statement, the companies said the deal, expected to complete in Q3 2017, could lead to $265m of savings. The agreement is subject to shareholder and anti-trust approval.
Knight, Swift both have facilities in the region

Swift Transportation Inc. and Knight Transportation Co., both based in Arizona, on Monday announced an all-stock transaction that is expected to create the industry’s largest full-truckload trucking company.



The combined holding company will be named Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., and will trade under the ticker KNX. That structure will allow the existing brands to continue operating separately under common ownership.



Knight operates a trucking terminal on Harrisburg Pike in Middlesex Township, Cumberland County.



Swift’s Harrisburg-area trucking terminal, meanwhile, is located on Route 72 in Union Township, Lebanon County, near Interstate 81.



A spokesman for the companies told the Business Journal that existing facilities and operations will not be affected by the merger.



Once the deal is complete, which is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2017, Knight-Swift will have approximately 23,000 tractors, 77,000 trailers, and 28,000 employees.



The merger also will create a company with “top 5” truckload presence in the key dry van, refrigerated, dedicated, cross-border Mexico and Canada segments, as well as “a significant presence” in brokerage and intermodal haulage.



There was no mention of layoffs or facility closures in the statement. Rather, it suggested that $265 million in savings are expected through 2019 from sharing best practices, improving yield, identifying purchasing economies, benefitting from broader geographic scale and capitalizing on an enhanced cash flow profile to reduce interest costs.



The companies’ boards have unanimously approved the deal, which is still subject to approval by the stockholders of Knight and Swift, as well as antitrust approvals.



Both companies are headquartered in Phoenix, where the combined company will remain.



“When the two companies began discussions, we had four goals in mind: create a company with the best strategic position in our industry; identify significant realizable synergies that would create value for both sets of stockholders; create a business that over the long term will operate at Knight’s historical margins and financial returns; and agree on a leadership and corporate governance framework that will benefit all stakeholders,” Knight executive chairman Kevin Knight said. “I am confident we have achieved those goals.”



Swift founder and controlling stockholder Jerry Moyes said his family and the Knight family grew up together, “and the Knights helped me build Swift before starting their own company and making it an industry leader in growth and profitability.”



“I cannot think of a better combination,” Moyes said.

