by BASSETT, Va. – Bassett Furniture Inds. has reached an agreement to sell its Zenith Freight Lines transportation subsidiary to J.B. Hunt Transportation Services for $87 million.
The deal announced Monday is expected to close at the end of February.
The company said that Zenith posted revenues of $87 million in its fiscal year ending November 2021. Bassett represented about a third of this business, the company said.
Officials said that the purchase will grow J.B. Hunt’s Final Mile Services segment as Zenith provides specialized LTL transportation services for furniture manufacturers and retailers in the continental United States.
“This investment enhances J.B. Hunt’s furniture delivery capabilities by expanding our nationwide, end-to-end supply chain solution for our customers, and we look forward to establishing a long-term connection with Bassett, a manufacturer and retailer of high-quality home furnishings and a leader in the industry,” said John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt
“The sale of Zenith opens an exciting new chapter in our quest to provide the highest level of service to our customers,” added Robert H. Spilman, Jr., Bassett’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. “Disruption caused by the pandemic aside, we believe that the consolidation of traditional specialized furniture transportation is inevitable. As discussions with J.B. Hunt progressed, we came to understand the benefits that the scale of J.B. Hunt could provide in terms of equipment, technology, driver recruitment, intermodal transportation, and warehousing density. In addition, we developed a healthy respect for the management team and their operating culture. We are extremely enthusiastic about the potential to better serve our customers with the 50-year accumulated furniture transportation know-how of Zenith in combination with the power of the J.B. Hunt platform.”
