Van Pool Transportation, headquartered in Wilbraham, MA, is a leading provider of outsourced transportation services to K-12 students with special needs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Van Pool, which serves over 100 school districts and 5,000 students today, strives to fulfill its mission of positively and significantly contributing to the success of the students, schools and communities it serves.

THE DEAL

Audax Private Equity has acquired Van Pool and has partnered with management to support continued growth. BlackArch Partners served as financial advisor to Van Pool. Ropes & Gray LLP served as counsel to Audax.

THE THESIS

Van Pool is a leader in the outsourced special needs student transportation services industry, serving over 100 school districts and 5,000 students in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. With its new partnership with Audax, Van Pool will be focused on delivering best-in-class service through growth investments in its fleet, operations and technology infrastructure, and driver recruitment and retention to maintain the highest safety standards. Van Pool’s management and Audax jointly believe that these investments will bolster the company’s pillars of success: service, safety, scale, and human capital excellence.

In addition to continuing to grow through expanding its relationships with both existing and new school districts and collaboratives in the Northeast, Van Pool will be focused on aggressively growing through acquisitions. Van Pool’s goal is to become a national platform within the special needs transportation services industry, providing an unmet need of superior service, safety, and quality across the country. Van Pool looks to expand both in its existing regions as well as to the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and West Coast in the near term.