Redwood Logistics Announces Strategic Investment from AEA Investors

Acquisition underscores Redwood’s position as the innovative leader in the freight industry 

CHICAGO, (DECEMBER 14, 2021) -- Redwood Logistics (“Redwood”), one of the fastest-growing supply chain and logistics companies in North America, announced a new strategic investment from AEA Investors (“AEA”), a leading global investment firm with over $15 billion in assets under management and a 50+ year legacy of partnering with leading middle market companies to accelerate growth. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. For the past four years, Redwood has been a portfolio company of CI Capital Partners and has grown exponentially through a combination of organic growth and multiple strategic acquisitions.  

AEA’s significant investment underscores Redwood’s mission to revolutionize the freight industry by serving its customers at the intersection of logistics and technology. AEA will partner with Redwood’s CEO, Mark Yeager, and President, Todd Berger, along with the existing management team to help drive the next stage of growth for the company. As part of the transaction, AEA expects to commit substantial resources to fund additional acquisitions and organic growth initiatives. 

“We are extremely enthusiastic to be joining the AEA family. This additional investment accelerates our organization’s strategic growth plan, all while retaining and underscoring our core values, unique Redwood culture and winning team,” said Mark Yeager, CEO, Redwood Logistics. “Our customers, carriers, vendors and employees will benefit greatly from this partnership as it enables us to accelerate the kind of aggressive innovation that led us to the development and launch of our Logistics Platform as a Service operating model.”  

Redwood launched Logistics Platform as a Service (LPaaS) in May 2021, bridging the gap between logistics and technology through an interconnected and open platform that allows for effortless scaling and logistics network design. As the pioneer of the LPaaS approach, Redwood leverages RedwoodConnect™, Redwood’s proprietary iPaaS platform, to facilitate a single cohesive digital and physical supply chain that changes and adapts as their customers’ organizations evolve. 

“Redwood’s management team has built an exceptional business, performing at the top of the freight industry and innovating ahead of the competition,” said Justin de La Chappelle, Partner at AEA. “We are very excited about Redwood’s future, and we look forward to partnering with the Redwood team to help further expand its offerings and drive ongoing technology innovation.” 

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Redwood employs more than 800 people and offers a wide range of strategically integrated transportation and logistics services, driving digital transformation within the supply chain. The acquisition comes on the heels of Redwood’s 20th anniversary, being recognized as  Chicago’s Top Workplaces of 2021 by The Chicago Tribune, and receiving recognition among the 2022 FreightWaves’ FreightTech 25, an award spotlighting the most innovative leaders within the transportation industry. 

About Redwood Logistics 

Redwood Logistics, a leading logistics platform company headquartered in Chicago, has provided solutions for moving and managing freight for more than 20 years. The company’s diverse portfolio includes digital freight brokerage, flexible freight management and logistics consulting all wrapped into a revolutionary logistics and technology delivery model—Logistics Platform as a Service (LPaaS). LPaaS utilizes an open platform for digital planning that empowers shippers to seamlessly mix-and-match partners, technologies and solutions into their own unique digital supply chain fingerprint. Redwood connects a wide range of customers to the power of supply chain management, technology and the industry’s brightest minds. For more information, visit redwood1dev.wpengine.com. 

About AEA Investors 

AEA Investors LP was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network built over many years which includes leading industrial families, business executives and leaders; many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors and/or join its portfolio company boards or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA’s approximately 100 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have over $15 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market companies and small business companies, growth capital and mezzanine and senior debt investments. 

About CI Capital Partners 

CI Capital Partners LLC is a leading North American private equity investment firm dedicated to investing in middle-market companies with over $2.4 billion of invested capital. Throughout its 28-year history, CI Capital and its portfolio companies have made more than 410 platform company and add-on acquisitions representing approximately $10 billion in enterprise value. CI Capital forms partnership with experienced management teams and entrepreneurs to build substantial businesses through add-on acquisitions, organic growth and operational improvements. For more information on CI Capital Partners, please visit www.cicapllc.com.  

Redwood Media Contact: 

Elena Izakson 

(844) 467-3396 

Tyler Thornton 

LeadCoverage 

tyler@leadcoverage.com 

AEA Media Contact:  

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 

Jon Keehner and Erik Carlson 

+1 (212) 355-4449 

CI Capital Partners Media Contacts: 

Daniel Yunger 

Kekst 

+1 (212) 521-4800