NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Loadsmart, a
leading digital freight technology company, today announced the
successful completion of its Series C fundraising. The $90 million round was led by BlackRock, Inc.'s
managed funds and included prominent strategic investors from the
transportation space such as TFI International Inc. (NYSE and TSX:
TFII), a North American leader in the transportation and logistics
industry, and Maersk, the world's leading ocean carrier and a
Loadsmart investor since Series A. The deal was co-led by Chromo
Invest, with participation from Perry Capital, founded by
Richard C. Perry; and Bramalea
Partners, recently founded by Andrew
Boyd, former head of global equity capital markets at
Fidelity Investments. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as
Loadsmart's exclusive placement agent. Paul
Hastings served as legal adviser.
The funding round cements Loadsmart's position as a leader in
the digital freight space. Loadsmart's fiscally conservative
strategy is unique among digital competitors and has allowed for
capital-efficient, sustainable growth. Instead of growing by
subsidizing its customers' freight spend, the company focuses on
organic growth driven by operational excellence coupled with API
integrations, developing the technology to provide true value-added
services to its customers. Loadsmart has grown revenues 250% since
January 2020 while improving service
quality, increasing gross margins and keeping operational expenses
at 2019 levels.
"As the secular shift from analogue to digital has continued to
accelerate throughout the logistics industry, in which volatility
has become the norm, we are proud to help our customers leverage
Loadsmart's technology to secure capacity and exceptional service,"
noted Ricardo Salgado, Loadsmart
co-founder and CEO.
With the highest percentage of employees in software development
and data science roles in the digital freight industry, Loadsmart
was the first to market with the following: truckload instant
pricing and booking in 2015; server-to-server autonomous truckload
booking via API and TMS integrations in 2016; and drayage and
transload digital services in 2019. This tech-first approach has
allowed the company to set in place a fully scalable and automated
distribution model. As a result, 85% of Loadsmart revenue is now
generated (quoted and booked) with full automation.
On the heels of Loadsmart's recent announcement of its
multi-mode expansion, supporting less-than-truckload, partial and
rail, Co-Founder and President Felipe
Capella emphasized, "We are a one-stop shop for digital
logistics execution. BlackRock's support will be critical to
consolidate our vision of offering end-to-end multimodal digital
logistics services. We want to provide shippers and carriers with
logistics solutions that are simple, instantaneous and
integrated."
The strategic investment from TFI International allows for
collaboration and idea sharing with a North American leader in
transportation and logistics that has a wide breadth of
operations.
Discussing the investment in Loadsmart, TFI International's
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Bédard stated, "As a leader in the
transportation and logistics industry, we constantly seek a window
into the latest cutting-edge technologies to integrate within our
expansive network. Our investment in Loadsmart provides
invaluable visibility into 'what's next' as we pursue our
technology-enabled, asset light-business plan."
Maersk has also doubled down on its support, with Sune Stilling, Head of Maersk Growth, citing as
influencing factors, "the remarkable growth Loadsmart has achieved
since our Series A investment, complemented by the value we have
jointly created for Maersk's customers through our partnership in
the North American intermodal and truckload markets."
Loadsmart's suite of investors now includes the largest ocean
carrier in the world, the largest port terminal operator in the
U.S. and one of the largest transportation and logistics companies
in North America. The proceeds of
the Series C round will allow Loadsmart to better serve shippers
through doubling down on the tools to deliver excellent operational
performance, as well as an expansion of value-added services like
mode optimization, price transparency and data insights on supply
chain optimization opportunities.
About Loadsmart
Transforming the future of freight, Loadsmart leverages
artificial intelligence, machine learning and strategic
partnerships to automate how freight is priced, booked and shipped.
Pairing advanced technologies with deep-seated industry
expertise, Loadsmart fuels growth, simplifies operational
complexity and bolsters efficiency for carriers and shippers alike.
For more information, please
visit: https://loadsmart.com.
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SOURCE Loadsmart