Highland Transport sold to LBO firm, management group

MARKHAM, Ont. (April 11, 2001) — Highland Transport, one of Canada’s largest truckload and intermodal carriers, has been sold to a group of company managers and TriWest Capital Partners, a Calgary-based leveraged buyout firm.

A purchase price was not disclosed. The sale is expected to close April 30, pending regulatory approval.

Since 1993, Highland has been owned by Westminster Holdings, a Chicago-based holding company that also owns Canpar, a business-to-business courier. Both Highland and Canpar were former properties of CP Trucks, the former trucking arm of Canadian Pacific Ltd. Westminster had been looking for a buyer for Highland for the past year.

TriWest’s founding partners include investment entrepreneur Cody Church and former Burns Foods executives Ron Jackson and Lorne Jacobson. A private company, its portfolio includes a coffee decaffeination business and a producer of fabric-covered, steel-framed buildings.

The executives involved in the management buyout are Highland president Norm Sneyd; vice-president of sales and marketing Mark Brennan; vice-president of operations Geoff Scott; and controller Scott Owens.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for us,” Sneyd said. “Because we’re not being acquired by another trucking company, we don’t have to deal with a clash of operating philosophies or cultural issues. We have partners who will allow our management team to continue to operate independently in order to grow the business.

“The biggest change here is that the rumors about us being for sale can be put to rest.”

Highland, based in Markham, Ont., operates 800 power units, 1200 trailers, and 300 container chassis. It was named carrier of the year for 2000 by the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association.