Dive Brief:
- Private investment firm Avkha Equity Holdings acquired Dart Transport, Dart Express and subsidies as of Jan. 1, according to a news release.
- Day-to-day operations, the Dart name and operating entities remain the same, per the release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Tom Witt, who held executive roles at Roehl Transport, PGT Trucking and Arnold Transportation Services, was named CEO.
Dive Insight:
The business, kept within the Oren family for over 90 years, will still keep its legacy: David Oren will remain as president of Dart Express.
His father, Don, is retiring. Don’s father, Earl, started Dart with a single truck in 1934, and the business grew into a national carrier.
“Dart's history runs from the Great Depression through World War II, the Interstate Highway System being built in the '50s, all the way to deregulation in 1980 and beyond,” American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear previously said for an 85th anniversary reflection on the company. “Dart has seen all of that history, and Dart has shaped a lot of what our industry is today.”
Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, the business network provides truckload, intermodal, logistics and other transportation services.
Dart hasn’t been the only family-owned trucking business to change ownership recently. PGT acquired Kansas-based Debrick Truck Line Co., and the rental car behemoth Enterprise Mobility bought Missouri-based Hogan, according to announcements last month.
The president of Avkha, a firm based in California, is listed as Dominic Foster.
