U.S.-based third party logistics (3PL) company C.H. Robinson has announced the acquisition of Milgram & Company, a world-class provider of freight forwarding, customs brokerage and surface transportation in Canada.

In a release, C.H. Robinson chairman and chief executive officer John Wiehoff said the CAD$62 million (US$50 million) purchase brought one of Canada's most respected forwarding companies into the group.

"This acquisition continues our global expansion and marks our third Global Forwarding acquisition in the past five years," Wiehoff said.

"We are extremely proud of the progress we have made in bringing these companies into C.H. Robinson, and Milgram provides another unique opportunity to strengthen our global forwarding and customs brokerage offerings in Canada. 

"We look forward to working with Milgram’s customers to offer our full suite of logistics services to help improve their supply chains."

Based in Montreal, Quebec, Milgram has 300 employees and six offices in Canada, as well as one office in the United States.

With 3,500 active customers, Milgram is also the gold standard winner of "Canada's Best Managed Companies", and recorded CAD$155.3 million (US$124 million) in gross revenues in the last fiscal year. 

C.H. Robinson said the acquisition was expected to be approximately neutral to earnings in 2017 and slightly accretive in 2018. The deal will be financed through cash and funds drawn from C.H. Robinson’s existing revolving credit facility.

"We are excited to build on our success providing supply chain expertise and execution, refining processes, and being an integral part of our customers’ businesses,” said Milgram president and chief executive officer Jay Goldman.

"We now look forward to collaborating with C.H. Robinson to grow our presence and provide our customers with the opportunity to leverage C.H. Robinson’s worldwide network and world-class service offerings."

C.H. Robinson’s Global Forwarding business currently serves five continents and 31 countries, with over 4,000 employees and 125 offices worldwide, and is the #1 non-vessel operator (NVO) from China to the United States.

Global Forwarding customers leverage C.H. Robinson’s considerable freight volumes to access available capacity at competitive rates.

“This acquisition strengthens our ability to continue to serve the world’s shippers and help them meet their global supply chain goals,” said C.H. Robinson's Global Forwarding division president Mike Short.

"Milgram has built a successful business doing things the right way, serving customers, and exceeding their expectations. We look forward to bringing their talented team to C.H. Robinson."

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