Second round of Forward Air takeover bids expected in September, report says

A second round of takeover bids for Forward Air are expected to be submitted in early September, according to M&A blog Axios Pro.

The report said the bids were originally expected by the end of this month, but Forward (NASDAQ: FWRD) has delayed the deadline. It also said it’s unclear if bidders are vying for all or just a portion of the company.

A July Reuters report said “a handful of private equity firms” had submitted bids to buy the less-than-truckload and logistics provider. That group of bidders was reported to include Clearlake Capital, which already holds a 12% stake in the company, and buyout firms like an offshoot of Apollo Global Management (NASDAQ: APO).

Forward was compelled to engage in a strategic review of its business earlier this year following fallout from a controversial merger with Omni Logistics. Some investors contested the deal’s structure, which circumvented a shareholder vote. Activists publicly panned the merger as it materially increased Forward’s debt load and appeared to place it in competition with legacy customers.

Forward touted financial improvements during the second quarter on a call with analysts last week. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization came in slightly ahead of consensus, but a net loss was worse than expected.

Net debt of $1.69 billion stood at 5.7 times last 12 months’ consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $298 million at the end of the quarter. That was an increase from 5.3 times at the end of the first quarter.

Shares of FWRD were down 4.6% to $28.41 on Monday at 12:59 pm EDT compared to the S&P 500, which was off 0.2%. Forward’s stock traded at $110 per share before the deal was announced in August 2023.

FreightWaves has reached out to Forward Air for comment.

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