J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced plans to purchase Zenith Freight Lines from Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. for approximately $87 million.
“This investment enhances J.B. Hunt’s furniture delivery capabilities by expanding our nationwide, end-to-end supply chain solution for our customers, and we look forward to establishing a long-term connection with Bassett, a manufacturer and retailer of high-quality home furnishings and a leader in the industry,” says John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt.
“The sale of Zenith opens an exciting new chapter in our quest to provide the highest level of service to our customers,” says Robert Spilman, Jr., Bassett’s CEO and chairman of the board. “Disruption caused by the pandemic aside, we believe that the consolidation of traditional specialized furniture transportation is inevitable. As discussions with J.B. Hunt progressed, we came to understand the benefits that the scale of J.B. Hunt could provide in terms of equipment, technology, driver recruitment, intermodal transportation, and warehousing density. In addition, we developed a healthy respect for the management team and their operating culture. We are extremely enthusiastic about the potential to better serve our customers with the 50-year accumulated furniture transportation know-how of Zenith in combination with the power of the J.B. Hunt platform.”
From MarketWatch:
- Zenith provides specialized LTL transportation services for furniture manufacturers and retailers in the continental United States. Zenith moves products from manufacturing points or import locations utilizing employee drivers, late-model equipment, and approximately 1 million square feet of warehouse space to facilitate over one-quarter of a million moves annually.
- Following the acquisition, both Zenith founders will transition to key roles with J.B. Hunt.
"The sale of Zenith to J.B. Hunt represents the culmination of our life’s work in the furniture transportation industry,” says Jack Hawn, president of Zenith. “Becoming a part of J.B. Hunt will advance the quality service we have established by providing scalable, efficient solutions to the furniture industry.”
The acquisition will expand J.B. Hunt’s Final Mile Services segment, which with 116 locations and over 3.5 million square feet of warehouse and facilities space, has the ability to serve 100% of the contiguous United States.
