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Alba Wheels Up International
About the Company
Alba Wheels Up International (“Alba” or the “Company”) is a leader in customs brokerage, freight forwarding, trade compliance, and other logistics services across key end markets, including apparel and accessories, pharmaceuticals, industrial, and food and drugs.
Alba facilitates seamless import and export operations for clients, leveraging regulatory expertise and a robust logistics network to ensure swift and accurate movement of goods in and out of the United States. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Valley Stream, New York, the Company has additional offices in California, New Jersey, and Texas. Alba has been a portfolio company of Southfield Capital (“Southfield”) since 2021.
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Situation
Over seven decades, Alba’s growth strategy has been driven by acquiring leading customs house brokers and freight forwarders. The Company pursues a limited number of acquisitions each year and is experienced at tailoring agreements to suit the various objectives of business owners and facilitating a seamless onboarding process.
Engagement
Alba and Southfield engaged G2 Capital Advisors, LLC (“G2”) as the exclusive buy-side advisor to identify and originate acquisition targets that met the Company’s criteria and expansion goals. G2 works as a trusted advisor and long-term strategic partner in growing our clients’ businesses. In this engagement, G2’s role extended beyond buy-side advisor to capital markets advisor, successfully identifying a credit partner to support Alba’s long-term M&A growth strategy.
Outcome
Alba acquired Philadelphia, PA-based John A. Steer Co. (“Steer”) in December 2023.
Steer offers customs brokerage, freight forwarding, domestic transportation, cargo insurance, and supply chain management services in the United States, with a focus on food & beverage end markets and wine consolidation and logistics. The acquisition bolsters Alba’s customs brokerage business with an expansion into temperature-controlled freight while growing its domestic transportation capabilities.
“Welcoming Steer to the Alba family marks a milestone in our journey by reinforcing our commitment to custom brokerage excellence and fortifying our position in the perishables market. Together, we elevate our standing as a leading global logistics services provider,” says Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Damien Stile.
Southfield Partner Heb James commented, “We are thrilled to partner with Steer and leverage combined expertise and resources to pursue ongoing growth. Many thanks to G2 who were great, trusted partners throughout the entire M&A process.”
“It is exciting to see two legacy logistics organizations with hundreds of years of combined history come together in the spirit of industry innovation,” said Chris Casteleyn, Managing Director within the Transportation & Logistics practice at G2 Capital Advisors. “We are pleased to support this partnership and are energized to realize more successes together.”
Deal Team
Sub-Sector
- Customs Brokerage
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