Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Oct. 16, 2020:
Navistar to be acquired by VW’s Traton
After countering what was deemed a final and best offer, a gambit by Navistar, parent company of International Trucks, paid off on Friday. Traton, the commercial truck business of Volkswagen, agreed to buy the remaining stake of Navistar for $3.7 billion.
That’s a value of $44.50 per share of the remaining 84% of the company that Traton didn’t already own.
After sitting on an offer of $43 per share for more than a month, Navistar Friday morning countered an expiring “take it or leave it” letter from Traton with a higher asking price of $44.50. The figure put forward by the maker of International Trucks came with the support of the company’s two largest stakeholders: Carl Icahn and MHR Fund Management LLC.
Navistar and Traton in 2016 partnered in a procurement joint venture and strategic technology and supply collaboration, beefing up both companies’ ability to scale globally. Dialogue between Navistar and Volkswagen – which also operates the MAN and Scania business units in Europe and abroad – began in 2015.
Navistar and Traton are also entangled in some of their business interests. Each holds a minority position in self-driving tech company TuSimple. Traton, as part of the partnership, was slated to develop self-driving trucks for the European market. Navistar was to co-develop SAE Level 4 self-driving trucks targeted for production by 2024.
FMCSA extends HOS waiver for wildfire relief haulers in California, Oregon
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Western Service Center has extended the emergency declaration for wildfire relief haulers in California and Oregon, thus extending the hours of service waiver for qualifying truck drivers.
Declarations were first issued by the governors of each state in August, and FMCSA issued an extension to the state declarations on Sept. 10.
“Because conditions have not abated in these states, FMCSA is again extending the emergency declarations and associated regulatory relief,” the agency said.
The waiver applies to drivers providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts transporting supplies, goods, equipment and fuel into the states, or providing other assistance in the form of emergency services during the wildfires.
The waiver is now effective through Nov. 19.
Owner-operators can register for broker-related listening session October 28
The FMCSA also posted notice of where owner-operators can register for a listening session planned for October 28, at 1 p.m. Eastern, concerning petitions to the agency related to 49 CFR 371.3, concerning parties to a brokered transaction and their right to review a broker’s transaction records.
Information about petitions to modify brokers’ required disclosure, if requested, you can find in this notice of a comment-period extension to Nov. 18 published yesterday. To participate in the October 28 listening session, register for the virtual event via this link.
New Love’s opens in Arizona
Love’s Travel Stops this week opened a new location in Cordes Junction, Arizona, north of Phoenix, adding 57 truck parking spaces to the I-17 corridor.
In addition to the parking, the new store offers Arby’s and Godfather’s Pizza restaurants, eight diesel bays, eight showers, Love’s Truck Care with on-site Speedco, laundry facilities and more.
The store is the company’s 14th in Arizona.
