And Then There Was One Less

The number of transportation services providers will diminish by one with the purchase of Roadway Corp. by Overland Park, Kan.-based Yellow Corp. Yellow reported that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Akron, Ohio-based Roadway for $966 million, or $48 per share. Yellow said it also will assume about $140 million in net Roadway debt. The combined enterprise will be know as Yellow-Roadway Corp. Commenting on the transaction, Bill Zollars, chairman, president and CEO of Yellow, said, "It accelerates our ongoing strategy, implemented over the past six years, to transform Yellow into a global transportation services and solution leader. While there will be no change in the customer interface, customers can benefit from new and expanded service capabilities and greater technological advances." Zollars will be chairman, president and CEO of the combined company, while James D. Staley, president and CEO of Roadway, will continue to lead Roadway. Roadway will become an operating entity under the Yellow-Roadway holding company. Yellow said the combined company will focus on big shipments for business-to-business customers.