Uber Freight buys shipping software company Transplace for $2.25B

Uber Freight, the majority-owned logistics arm of Uber Technologies Inc., today said it’s acquiring shipping software company Transplace Inc. for $2.25 billion.

Uber Freight is acquiring the company from TPG Capital in a deal that consists of $750 million in common Uber stock and the remainder in cash.

Founded in 2000, Transplace offers a blend of logistic technology and transport management services to manufacturers, retailers, chemical and consumer packaged goods companies. The company’s services include transport management, intermodal brokerage and software-as-a-service transportation management solutions.

Transplace’s offering is supplemented by a consulting service, supply chain network planning and design, and transportation procurement. The company says it powers one of the most extensive managed transportation and logistics networks globally, with more than $11 billion in freight under management and 62,000 users on its platform.

For Uber Freight, the acquisition is said to create a leading logistics technology platform by combining Transplace’s SaaS logistics platform with Uber Freight’s supply chain management and mobile applications.

“This is a significant step forward, not just for Uber Freight but for the entire logistics ecosystem,” Lior Ron, head of Uber Freight, said in a statement. “This is an opportunity to bring together complementary best-in-class technology solutions and operational excellence from two premier companies to create an industry-first shipper-to-carrier platform that will transform shippers’ entire supply chains, delivering operational resilience and reducing costs at a time when it matters most.”

The acquisition comes as somewhat of a surprise given that Uber has been selling off various units as it tries to increase it profitability. Uber sold its self-driving car unit to Aurora Innovation Inc. in a $4 billion deal in December, its flying taxi business to Joby Aviation the same month and its food delivery business in India to Zomato in January 2020.

Uber Freight itself has been partially spun off, though Uber maintains majority ownership. The division accepted an investment of $500 million from Greenbriar Equity Group for a minority stake on a $3.3 billion valuation in October.

The deal, however, will be a net positive for Uber and Uber Freight’s bottom line. According to ZDNet, Transplace is profitable before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and is expected to generate more than $100 million in revenue in 2021.

Uber believes the transaction will accelerate Uber Freight’s path to profitability and help the division to break even on an adjusted basis by the end of 2022.

Photo: Transplace