Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has partnered with logistics executives Chris Jamroz and Hessel Verhage to acquire St. George Logistics. Based in Kearney, NJ, STG is North America’s largest provider of outsourced ocean container freight station services and a major provider of air CFS. In addition, STG is a leading national provider of value-added warehousing services including contract warehousing, inventory management, distribution, and e-commerce fulfillment. STG’s core customer base includes the world’s leading freight forwarders, neutral NVOCCs, retailers, consumer packaged goods companies, and related businesses. STG is expected to be the first acquisition in the development of a leading logistics platform providing import/export and value-added warehousing and distribution services to this core client base.
“With 15 port and inland facilities totaling 2.2 million square feet, as well as a national network of 66 partner facilities, St. George maintains a leading role in providing mission-critical import/export and value-added warehousing and distribution services to its base of customers,” said Konrad Salaber, Principal with Wind Point. “We are excited to acquire STG in partnership with Chris and Hessel, two top caliber global executives with proven track records of value creation, and we look forward to their collaboration with the outstanding management team at STG.”
Chris Jamroz will serve as CEO of STG’s holding company and Hessel Verhage will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of the holding company. Chris most recently served as the President & Chief Operating Officer of GardaWorld Cash Services, a division of PE-backed GardaWorld Security Corporation. During his tenure, Chris helped grow GardaWorld into North America’s largest cash logistics company with over C$1.1 billion in annual revenues. Prior to GardaWorld, Chris was an investment banking executive with J.P.Morgan Chase. Hessel is the former President of Global Freight Forwarding at UTi Worldwide, where he managed a $2.7 billion P&L. Prior to UTi, Hessel served as CEO and President of Global Link Logistics, a private-equity backed freight forwarder focused on Pan-Pacific trade lanes.
“I look forward to partnering with Hessel and St. George management to help lead the Company in its next phase of growth,” stated Jamroz. “STG is a leader in its industry and the entire team is highly motivated to start implementing the robust organic growth plan we developed in conjunction with Wind Point.”
Verhage added, “I am very excited to launch my partnership with Wind Point, Chris and the team at St. George. The import/export and value-added warehouse and distribution supply chain is a large, growing and highly dynamic industry, and I am thrilled to help lead a team committed to building a world class logistics operation focused on this space.”
Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses with previous investments including Dicom Transportation Group, Railworks Corporation, and AIR-serv Group.
Financing for the transaction was provided by NewStar Financial, Fifth Third Bank, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, and Oaktree Capital Management. Kirkland & Ellis represented Wind Point as legal counsel and KPMG provided transaction advisory services on the transaction.
About Wind Point Partners
Wind Point Partners is a private equity investment firm that has raised $3 billion in commitments since 1984. Wind Point focuses on partnering with top caliber management teams to acquire middle market businesses where it can establish a clear path to value creation. Additional information about Wind Point is available at www.windpointpartners.com.
About St. George Logistics
St. George Logistics offers a wide range of value-added logistics services including ocean and air container freight station (CFS) services, contract warehousing, distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, and services. St. George operates the largest network of independent CFS facilities in North America with very close proximity to all major ports and metropolitan areas for ocean or air cargo. St. George is also a leading provider of a wide range of additional logistics services including distribution, warehousing and reliable transportation within the US. Additional information about St. George is available at www.stgusa.com.
