- GeneralM&A
- July 22, 2021
- 4 minutes read
Deal: Uber Freight Buys Shipping Planner Transplace For $2.3B
The trucking division of ride-hailing giant Uber has struck a deal to acquire a major company that makes software used…
The trucking division of ride-hailing giant Uber has struck a deal to acquire a major company that makes software used to organize shipping and logistics operations. Uber Freight will buy Transplace from its current owner, private equity firm TPG Capital, for a price of $2.25bn.
- The price tag is split into $750mn of Uber stock (NYSE: UBER) and $1.5bn in cash. It’s one of Uber’s biggest acquisitions on record, shortly after the company’s near-$2bn purchase of online grocer Cornershop.
- Uber Freight is a gem for Uber, one of its few remaining divisions outside ride-hailing after the company sold most of its non-ride-hailing businesses to outside owners. Uber Freight matches freight carriers with businesses looking to ship goods across destinations and as well provides software to help manage shipping and logistical operations.
- With Transplace, Uber Freight is buffing up its business with a long-established software company (founded in 2000) in a bid for profitability, the company says. Uber says it expects its trucking division to break through on an Adjusted EBITDA basis by the end of 2022.
- Transplace was bought by TPG Capital in 2017 for a price reported to be close to $1bn. Now, four years later, TPG appears to have doubled its investment in the company.
- Notably, TPG was an early investor in Uber and still retains a stake in the company, albeit less than 1%.
- Uber Freight’s purchase of Transplace is still subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval, which’s likely to be given anyways.
