XTL Group, cross-border shipping, and logistics company, has purchased Georgia-based freight brokerage CBT, making it its first U.S. operation.
The deal gives XTL, based in Toronto, a brokerage focused on serving the foodservice industry and poultry and egg processors. The transaction complements XTL’s transportation and freight brokerage companies, which do some of the same sectors in Canada and cross-border activities with the United States.
Craig Germain, XTL’s chief operating officer, told FreightWaves, “They’ve never sold cross-border, and we’ve never sold domestic U.S. [freight].” “As a result, we now have the potential to leverage those solid client bases and deliver more services in a market that is hungry for capacity.”
According to Germain, XTL has long-term aspirations to expand into the United States through acquisition.
CBT, situated in Oakwood, Georgia, and its CEO, Connie Banks, who launched the brokerage in 1989, were the perfect fit for the company. According to Germain, XTL recognized parallels between CBT’s approach to carrier partnerships and XTL’s.
“We’ve built our carrier base in a very strategic way,” he explained, “partnering with carriers to have that capacity so we can efficiently sell it to our clients.” “CBT is based on the same model as CBT. They’ve been able to grow — rather dramatically — despite how tight the market has been in the United States over the previous 18 months. As a result, it’s a reflection of how they treat their carriers.”
XTL is following other Canadian trucking and logistics firms that have entered the U.S. domestic freight market with an asset-light approach, according to the COO.
Mullen Group, based in Alberta, purchased 3PL QuadExpress in the Chicago area in June, while Titanium Transportation Group, based in Ontario, has launched three brokerage offices in the United States since 2019.
XTL made sense, according to Germain, to enter the United States with an asset-light acquisition. He pointed out that the company’s asset-light activity in Canada has grown higher than the rest of its operations.
Germain wouldn’t say how much more XTL planned to expand in the United States.
“This is the first stage,” he explained.
The amount of the acquisition was not disclosed by XTL, which is a privately held company. When it bought Quebec carrier Transport Savoie in February, the company made its first acquisition in its 36-year history.
