Haig Partners served as the exclusive sell-side advisor on the sale of River States Truck and Trailer (“River States”) to Premier Truck Group (“PTG”), an international medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial truck dealership group and a Penske Automotive Group, Inc. company (NYSE:PAG). The acquisition is expected to add $200 million of estimated annualized revenue to Premier Truck Group, which has 48 locations throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, Utah, Idaho, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Oregon, as well as Ontario and Manitoba in Canada.
River States operates five facilities throughout the Western Wisconsin and Eastern Minnesota areas, including three full-service Freightliner and Western Star dealerships located in Eau Claire, WI, La Crosse, WI and Roberts, WI. In addition, River States operates independent repair facilities in Osseo, WI and Eagan, MN. With the acquisition of River States, Premier Truck Group adds an additional 161,000 sq. ft. of facilities, 96 service bays and 63 technicians.
Joe Laux, the long-time owner and CEO of River States, said, “I’d like to thank my hardworking teammates for all their contributions to our success over the years. We punched far above our weight, providing excellent service to customers near and far. I will miss being a Freightliner dealer, but I’m excited to spend more time with my family, friends and new business ventures. I congratulate Premier Truck Group on its acquisition of my dealerships. I know they will take great care of my team and provide them with opportunities only a national firm could offer. I’d also like to thank my M&A advisors at Haig Partners for representing me during this sale process. I expect a lot from those around me. Alan Haig, Derek Garber and Erik Haig proved themselves to be honest, hard workers and good communicators and added more value than I could have expected during this transaction. They truly are experts at what they do.” Stephen Dietrich and Brooke Sizer from Holland & Knight served as legal counsel to River States.
