Private equity fund ZS Fund has acquired Lily Transportation, the company announced last week.
The New York-based private equity fund, which is also the majority owner of Transervice Logistics, said the addition of the Needham, Massachusetts-based dedicated contract carriage company expands its trucking and logistics operations to more than 2,600 employees, including over 1,750 drivers with access to 185 North American locations. Lily will be an affiliate of Transervice but will retain its name as well as its management team.
Transervice will also continue operating under its own name, though company President and CEO Gregg Nierenberg and EVP and CFO Alex Lafaras will assume new roles at Lily, according to the announcement.
Nierenberg said keeping Transervice and Lily as separate brands creates opportunities for both businesses, as each can leverage the other’s strengths and resources. The combined operations will operate about 27,000 pieces of equipment.
“Transervice and Lily’s cultures and business approaches are remarkably similar,” Nierenberg said in a statement. “Both companies have many very long-standing customer relationships. Every customer is provided with a senior executive point-of-contact to ensure responsive, efficient management in their day-to-day operations.”
Lily’s management team will remain largely intact. John Simourian II, Lily’s president and CEO, will no longer be involved in the company’s daily operations but will remain chairman of Lily’s board.
Bob Horne, managing partner of ZS Fund, is optimistic its investment in Lily , will lead to similar success as its investment in Transervice did 16 years ago.
“Lily’s experienced and knowledgeable operating executives have exhibited this same customer-centric approach, which is what attracted us to the company,” Horne said in a statement, “and we look forward to the best practices of each company being shared with the other.”
