WALTHAM, Mass. — Harrison Global closed a deal May 23 to buy the assets of Thorpe, Inc, dba Thorpe's Luxury Limousine Service, a chauffeured sedan service based in Durham, N.C., the Tenney Group, a business brokerage, disclosed this week.
From the date The Tenney Group started working on the deal until the day of closing, the total transaction time took 93 days. The transaction marks the fifth deal Harrison Global has completed through The Tenney Group in the past 18 months.
The terms of the deal, size of the transaction, and projected annual revenues for Harrison Global were not disclosed. Eight vehicles were included in the asset purchase. Thorpe employees will transition over to become Harrison employees immediately. Thorpe will transition its name over to Harrison within a few months, and the website will remain in place temporarily as a bridge.
Owner Wayne Thorpe retained The Tenney Group in February 2012 to handle the sale. Thorpe is the original owner and has been operating his company for over 18 years. He hired The Tenney Group to help him transition to retirement to help him give them the ability to make the most of his investment in the transportation industry.
Derek Marcou, co-owner of Harrison Global, commented on the transaction in a statement: “Thorpe's Luxury Limousine Service is a well-run company with a long history of delivering excellent service to its customers. This transaction is an important strategic piece to our overall growth plans in the Raleigh/Durham market.”
Harrison Global was a finalist in the 51-plus vehicles category for the 2012 LCT Operator of the Year Awards. They are ranked No. 19 on the 2012 LCT 100 Largest Fleets List with 113 vehicles.
As part of the deal, Harrison Global also hired a top executive to help lead the company's continued expansion and business development plans in the Raleigh/Durham market. Brad Jackson, former general manager of Elite Coach, will now be Harrison Global's general manager for the company's Raleigh Durham operations.
Harrison's managing partners Russ Cooke and Bill Gemmell said in a joint statement: “The addition of Brad Jackson as GM is exactly what we needed to fully capitalize on the acquisition of Thorpe's Luxury Limousine Service and to tighten up our long term plans for the RDU market.”
On The Tenney Group's role as transaction advisor, Thorpe said, “The Tenney Group's industry transaction expertise, management of the deal process, and ability to construct a fair deal for everyone was critical to this transaction's success. I clearly made the right decision by hiring the industry specialist to sell my business.”
The Tenney Group, based in Arlington, Texas, is a national business brokerage that focuses exclusively on business sales, acquisitions, and business valuations in the transportation industry.
Harrison Global, a user of green and smart transportation initiatives, has more than 130 executive transportation vehicles in service and continues its business development and acquisition efforts across the eastern seaboard of the U.S. In addition to its Massachusetts headquarters and expanded Raleigh/Durham office, Harrison also has an office in the DC/Virginia market. Harrison provides service in 450 cities worldwide, and remains poised in a growth phase.
Information: Harrison Global, www.smartertransportation.com, (888) 487-8877; The Tenney Group, www.thetenneygroup.com, (877) 642.8033.
Source: The Tenney Group