U.S. Xpress plans public stock issue
A decade after buying back all of its stock to become a privately held company, U.S. Xpress Enterprises is returning to Wall Street to issue up to $100 million of stock and become a publicly traded company again.
The Chattanooga-based trucking company, which is primarily owned by the families of co-founders Max Fuller and the late Pat Quinn, announced Monday it has filed plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial stock offering. Terms and prices for the stock sale were not immediately announced Monday, but the company said BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal.
Founded in 1985, U.S. Xpress is the nation’s fifth largest asset-based truckload carrier with sales of $1.6 billion in the 12 months ended March 31.
The company was publicly traded from 1994 to 2007 when then co-CEOs Max Fuller and Pat Quinn took the business private.
The announcement of the public stock sale comes just over a year after the second generation of U.S. Xpress leaders took over management control of the company and soon after trimmed some of the company’s headquarters staff to improve the profitability of U.S. Xpress, apparently to prepare for this year’s stock offering.
Eric Fuller, the son of co-founder Max Fuller, became CEO of U.S. Xpress in March 2017. At the same time, Lisa Quinn Pate, the daughter of Pat Quinn, was named chief administrative officer for the truckload carrier.
U.S. Xpress said it has submitted a registration statement with the SEC to issue Class A stock on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “USX.”
Stephens Inc., Stifel, and Wolfe Capital Markets and Advisory will act as comanagers for the offering.
The proposed offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 282550001, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by email at dg.prospectus—requestsbaml. com and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014.