Daseke Buys Canadian Energy Services Firm Aveda

Moore Freight Services
Moore Freight Service also is a recent Daseke acquisition. (Daseke via Facebook)

Daseke Inc. on April 16 continued its acquisition activity, announcing it will purchase Aveda Transportation and Energy Services, a large North American oil rig moving company based in Calgary, Alberta. The deal is expected to close in June.

Aveda provides transportation service and equipment for the petroleum industry in the United States and Canada, operating about 430 tractors and 660 trailers. It works in and around the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas. About 90% of its operations are in the United States, according to Aveda President Ronnie Witherspoon.

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In 2017, Aveda garnered revenue of $158 million, up from $57.7 million in 2016.



Daseke CEO Don Daseke said the deal “aligns with our stated goal of entering specialized niches where we use our scale to make our operating companies even stronger.”

Under the terms of the transaction, Aveda shareholders have three options: receive 0.0751 Daseke common shares for each Aveda common share they hold; receive C$0.90 in cash per Aveda common share; receive a combination of cash and Daseke common shares.

Aveda shareholders also may earn a pro rata share of the amount by which Aveda’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the period June 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019, exceeds $18 million. The payout of this part of the deal would be about 14 months after the close of the Daseke purchase.

The deal has been approved by the board of both companies, including Werklund Capital Corp., and Werklund Ventures, holders of 25% of Aveda stock.

“We could not have asked for a better company to continue to provide our customers with high-quality service and equipment,” Aveda Executive Chairman David Werklund said.

2017 Daseke Acquistions

  • Big Freight Systems
  • Moore Freight Services
  • Roadmaster Group
  • R&R Trucking Holdings 
  • Schilli Transportation Services 
  • The Steelman Cos.
  • TSH & Co.

Don Daseke told investors the company’s goal is to become the leading flatbed and specialized logistics provider in the nation.

Daseke operates more than 5,200 tractors and 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers, and more than a million square feet of industrial warehousing space. Daseke ranks No. 42 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.