A majority ownership interest in Downers Grove, Illinois-based
Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. has been acquired by
Prospero Staff Capital, a private equity fund co-led by
Ted Kellner, founder of Milwaukee-based investment company
Fiduciary Management, and Roadrunner CEO
Chris Jamroz.
Roadrunner is a direct long-haul shipping company. The company has a nationwide presence with terminals in more than 40 U.S. metro markets. There are more than 1,000 drivers in the Roadrunner Smart Network.
Founded in 1984, Roadrunner moved its headquarters from Cudahy to Illinois in 2017. Roadrunner made the move after revamping its management team following the discovery of significant accounting errors. That came after a period of aggressive expansion via several acquisitions by the company.
Jamroz has been executive chairman and chief executive officer of Roadrunner since 2019.
[caption id="attachment_569576" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Ted Kellner[/caption]
In addition to being the founder and partner of Fiduciary Management, Kellner is also chief executive officer of T&M Partners and chairman of Fiduciary Real Estate Development. He is a long-term investor in Roadrunner.
“I’m thrilled about this new chapter for Roadrunner and to partner with Chris and his team to execute the next exciting developments there,” said Kellner. “From its roots in my home state of Wisconsin, Roadrunner has grown into the largest direct metro-to-metro LTL carrier, and I’m looking forward to growing our roster of direct corporate shippers and new investment in the business, as we continue driving Roadrunner’s success.”
Prospero Staff Capital is part of
LyonIX Holdings, Jamroz’s investment company with holdings in transportation and logistics, real estate, infrastructure, and cyber security.
The transaction announced today follows a multi-year transformation led by the current management team, under Jamroz’s leadership.
“After comprehensively unwinding the prior management’s roll-up strategy to get to a pure-play LTL network, Roadrunner now stands as a premium long-haul carrier,” said Jamroz. “Today marks the beginning of our growth phase, driven by new capital, strategic investments, and acquisitions. We’re committed to organic expansion, as well as pursuing focused and opportunistic M&A to strengthen our market position.”