Mullen Group closed its $190-million purchase of customs broker Cole Group

In May 2025, Mullen Group said it had closed its acquisition of Cole Group Inc., Cole International Inc., Abco International Freight Inc. and related companies, effective June 1, 2025.

Founded in the 1920s, Cole Group specializes in customs brokerage, freight forwarding and trade consulting in Canada and the U.S. It operates from 43 locations, including offices at airports, seaports and land border crossings, and employs more than 700 people.

The numbers

• Mullen paid $190 million in cash, subject to a purchase price adjustment.
• The price included $29 million of required working capital and about $10 million of real estate, mostly office space.
• Mullen expected Cole Group to generate about $300 million in annual revenue and $20 million in operating income before depreciation and amortization.
• Cole Group is a non-asset business with minimal capital spending needs.

Why Mullen wanted it

Mullen said the deal fit its strategy of expanding non-asset logistics services, offered cross-selling opportunities within its U.S. and international logistics segment and other divisions, and would help customers deal with an increasingly complex global trade market. It also said the acquisition would add to earnings right away and give it a platform for U.S. and international growth.

On an earlier earnings call, senior executive officer Murray Mullen said the company had always liked the customs brokerage business. He said Mullen's trucks move freight, and that owning Cole Group would let it help with the cross-border import and export transactions behind that freight.