Fastfrate bought a majority stake in Challenger Motor Freight
In June 2022, the logistics firm added Canada's ninth-largest fleet, creating one of the country's largest privately owned transportation companies.
On June 15, 2022, Fastfrate announced that it had bought a majority stake in Challenger Motor Freight, which ranked as Canada's ninth-largest fleet in the Today's Trucking Top 100.
The combined company would have more than 5,000 employees and owner-operators, 1.2 million square feet of facilities and 5,500 pieces of equipment. Terms were not disclosed. The deal was set to close Aug. 1, 2022, subject to Competition Bureau approval.
How the companies fit together
Fastfrate chairman Ron Tepper said his company had become more of a logistics provider, with transload facilities and warehouses, and called it CP Rail's largest wholesale intermodal customer. But he said it had very little trucking of its own. Challenger added a long-haul trucking fleet and exposure to the U.S. market, which Fastfrate had not had before.
Challenger founder Dan Einwechter kept a significant minority stake and remained chairman. He said there would be no job losses and no overlap in services, because the two companies did not compete directly.
What stays the same
- Challenger would keep operating under its own brand, with its leadership in place.
- Challenger president Jim Peeples would continue to run the company as CEO.
- Einwechter would join the Fastfrate board.
Tepper said the deal began with talks in the fall of 2021 that resumed in March 2022. Fastfrate had 40 terminals across Canada at the time, and Challenger added six terminals and two U.S. logistics offices.