Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Direct ChassisLink, Inc. and Blume Global, Inc. from EQT Infrastructure. As part of the transaction, EQT will retain a 20% minority stake in DCLI and Blume Global. The transaction, which is conditioned on customary regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Since its launch in 2009, DCLI has grown to become the leading North American provider of domestic and marine chassis to the intermodal supply chain. The company operates an extensive network of approximately 235,000 chassis across more than 450 locations, meaning nearly one in every three containerized shipments in the U.S. uses a DCLI chassis. Chassis are an essential part of the transportation value chain and are used to carry containers between ships in port and local destinations, as well as to and from intermodal hubs for long haul transport by rail or truck. DCLI's customers consist primarily of container shipping companies, railroads, motor carriers, beneficial cargo owners, and other logistics companies who use DCLI's chassis under long-term contracts.
Blume Global has developed a digital supply chain platform leveraging its 25-year history of data-driven insights across its vast global logistics network. Blume solutions enable logistics service providers, asset owners, carriers, and globally recognized brands in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, hi-tech and more, to gain real-time visibility across their supply chains, drive intelligent logistics execution based on data insights, optimize their supply chains end-to-end, manage the lifecycle of assets globally, and automate financial settlement. Since 1994, Blume Global has built a trusted platform in the global supply chain space with its integrated network and data insights across nearly 100 countries, more than 1,400 offices with 300+ IMCs, and 6,000+ motor carriers, and managing approximately 300,000 intermodal assets. The Blume Platform processes approximately $1 billion in transactions for customers with 99.99 percent billing accuracy.
"We are excited to have the support of a world-class financial sponsor like Apollo as we look to grow our asset provisioning business, expand into new adjacencies, and capitalize on the tremendous market opportunity for Blume," said Bill Shea, CEO of DCLI. "EQT's vision and backing have allowed us to grow rapidly over the past few years. We are thankful for EQT's ongoing support and we welcome Apollo to the DCLI family."
Antoine Munfakh, Partner at Apollo, said, "We are thrilled for the Apollo Funds to acquire what we believe are two incredible platforms in DCLI and Blume Global. Over many years of strong and steady growth, DCLI has established itself as the clear leader in domestic and marine chassis provisioning – a critical component of the intermodal supply chain. In DCLI, the Apollo Funds are acquiring a market leader with scale, breadth, well-established customer relationships, and significant organic and inorganic growth opportunities. In Blume Global, the Apollo Funds are acquiring a high-growth company with unique data advantages that allow it to solve critical problems for its customers, offering better visibility and more efficient supply chain orchestration. Most importantly, both DCLI and Blume Global are led by exceptional and proven management teams. We are excited to bring Apollo's resources to bear in helping DCLI and Blume usher in their next wave of growth."
Barclays PLC served as the financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as the legal advisor to the Apollo Funds in this transaction.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as the financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as the legal advisor to the Company in this transaction.
About Direct ChassisLink, Inc.
DCLI is the largest provider of marine and domestic container chassis and a leading provider of asset management services to the U.S. intermodal industry. The company owns, leases, and manages over 145,000 marine chassis and 89,000 domestic chassis. DCLI's strategic partnership with Blume Global (formerly REZ-1), which began in 2014, uniquely positions the company to deliver value to its customers across the supply chain ecosystem via Blume's Digital Supply Chain Platform. DCLI has a strong focus on safety and sustainability and is a participant in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) innovative WasteWise program. For more information, please visit http://www.dcli.com/.
About Blume Global
From the world's largest global retailers, manufacturers and consumer products companies to the smallest local drayage trucking companies, success depends on end-to-end visibility and orchestration of global supply chain networks across every move, every mode and every mile. With its AI-enabled, data-driven digital platform and solutions for real-time visibility, logistics execution, asset management, optimization and financial settlement, Blume Global leverages 25 years of data insights, its globally connected network, and advanced technologies to help enterprises be more agile and responsive, improve service delivery and reduce costs. Learn more at blumeglobal.com.
About Apollo Global Management
Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollohad assets under management of approximately $280 billion as of December 31, 2018 in private equity, credit and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.
