Knight-Swift merger cleared by FTC

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Truck 051311 Lr 6 2017 05 03 14 12The Federal Trade Commission announced May 1 it has granted approval to the merger of two of the country’s largest truckload carriers, Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation. The merger, which will create a truckload giant made up of about 30,000 power units, was announced last month, with the deal expected to close sometime this summer.

B Truck 050109 1 3495162317 O 2017 05 03 14 12The two Phoenix-based companies were required by federal law to file documents with the FTC and the Department of Justice to provide details about the merger. The FTC and DOJ are required to approve such deals before they close. According to a May 1 notice posted to the FTC’s website, the agency has cleared the Knight-Swift deal for closure. The Securities and Exchange Commission must also stamp its approval on the merger before the two companies can close, among a few other obligatory procedural steps.

Once the companies merge, the newly formed Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings should generate annual revenue upwards of $5 billion. The companies say they intend to remain separate entities and will simply share owners. Swift CEO Richard Stocking and Swift CFO Ginnie Henkley will part ways with the company once the merger is complete, but few other personnel changes are likely to occur, analyst Brad Delco of Stephens, Inc., told Overdrive last month.

Current drivers for the two companies are being offered a loyalty bonus of an extra penny per mile for every mile driven between the announcement of the merger and its date of closure.