One of the largest open deck companies in the U.S. today will begin public trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Daseke, Inc. merged with Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. II, the board of which approved the merger Monday, Feb. 27. The deal was announced in early January.
Hornaday is one of the Daseke companiesDon Daseke, chairman and CEO of Daseke, Inc. said:
“Our vision from the start was to become a public company so we could have access to the capital markets in order to continue our focused consolidation strategy. We believe we have an acquisition pipeline that could enable us to double Daseke’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization over the next three years, and we believe this business combination positions us to meet our 2017 consolidation objectives. Daseke has less than a 1 percent share of this highly fragmented open deck freight market, and we believe we have a tremendous opportunity for future growth and continued market penetration.
“From the beginning, our plan was to have a stock program for all of our employees, including an industry-first public stock plan for our company drivers. They have a very tough job, and we respect them greatly. Giving our people the opportunity to be owners in Daseke is a great day for me on a very personal level. We are just now making it to first base in our strategy to build the premier specialized, open deck transportation company in North America. We could not have chosen a better partner than the team at HCAC and are excited to become a Nasdaq-listed public company.”
A statement from the company said Daseke has, since 2009, grown revenue both organically and through acquisitions from $30 million to more than $650 million estimated in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 55 percent.
