Auxo Investment Partners said it completed a successful exit from its investment in M/G Transport Services through a sale to Maritime Partners, both based in Louisiana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This is an ideal outcome for all parties. Maritime Partners gets a great business with a strong management team, M/G’s management team gets a terrific new owner — an important consideration for us — and we at Auxo deliver an incredible return for our investors,” said Jeff Helminski, managing partner at Auxo.
Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has sold a New Orleans-based barge transportation company that it acquired five years ago. The sale of M/G Transport Services to Maritime Partners LLC, based in Metairie, La., marks a successful exit for the Grand Rapids-based Auxo, which acquired the company in November 2017 and made strategic investments in the company’s barge fleet, in analytics to improve fleet utilization, and in new business attraction efforts. M/G Transport Services operates a fleet of more than 300 barges on the lower Mississippi River and along the West Canal to Houston, Texas that transport petroleum coke, sugar, barite and other materials and commodities.
M/G Transport Services, a division of Auxo Marine Holdings, announced May 2 that John Binion has been appointed CEO, succeeding Jack Lordo. Binion has served as a lead director of the M/G Transport Services board since its December 2017 acquisition by Auxo Marine.
“I am excited to take on this new role and work closely with the talented team at M/G, which for decades has provided the highest level of customer service in the inland barge industry,” Binion said. “I look forward to partnering with the management team to build on the company’s impressive legacy and create new opportunities for our employees, customers and vendors. I also want to thank Jack Lordo for his more than 30 years of service as he has been a big part of making M/G the market leader that it is today.”
Maritime Partners, a maritime leasing and financing services company, has purchased M/G Transport Services from Auxo Investment Partners. M/G offers marine transportation services in the lower Mississippi River area and along the west canal to Houston, Texas. With over 300 dry cargo barges, M/G focuses on the movement of petroleum coke, sugar, barite and other materials. M/G will continue to operate under the M/G brand as a standalone entity and the members of the management team will continue in their current roles.
NEW ORLEANS – Auxo Investment Partners, a Michigan-based lower middle market private equity firm, has announced a successful exit from its investment in M/G Transport Services (M/G) through a sale to Maritime Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and completion of the acquisition followed HSR regulatory review Auxo said M/G flourished under its ownership. “Auxo partnered with M/G’s management team to foster a renewed growth orientation,” said a company spokesperson in a press release. “Leveraging Auxo’s value creation/portfolio company operations team, M/G made strategic investments in their barge fleet, developed advanced analytics to drive better insights into fleet utilization and spot market opportunities, and secured attractive new business wins in the company’s major trade lanes. What’s more, M/G’s management team invested alongside Auxo – and achieved significant financial returns – through their investments and participation in Auxo’s incentive stock ownership program.
Auxo Investment Partners has acquired Andrie LLC in partnership with the founding Andrie family. The company, led by CEO Stan Andrie Jr., has a fleet of 19 vessels with a cargo capacity of over 125,000 tons and has approximately 150 employees. Andrie was founded in 1988 by Barbara Andrie, mother of the current CEO, and is headquartered in Muskegon, MI (www.andrietg.com).