I Squared Capital Acquires Star Leasing, A Leading Trailer Lessor in the United States

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--I Squared Capital, through its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund II, has acquired Star Leasing, a leading trailer lessor in the U.S., from its shareholders. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Star Leasing has a young and diversified fleet of approximately 19,000 trailers throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the U.S. providing integrated rentals, leasing, maintenance, and trailer sales to its customers. Following the transaction, I Squared Capital’s global transport and logistics portfolio has over 264,000 trailers or chassis and 123 workshops with 3,500 employees in 19 countries.

“Trailer leasing has remained resilient throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and we see strong potential for growth in the sector driven by robust demand for trailer capacity to meet increasing needs for supply chain velocity, labor efficiency, peak capacity, and the expansion of micro-distribution,” said Thomas Lefebvre, Partner at I Squared Capital in Miami. “As Star Leasing has a dynamic management team, sophisticated operations, and a well-trained workforce, it provides a solid foundation for building a semi-trailer platform spanning the U.S. We are excited to work with CEO Steve Jackson and his team to help the company reach its true potential through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions in its core regions and beyond.”

Steve Jackson, CEO of Star Leasing, noted, “It is an exciting time in our industry, especially as the U.S. comes out of the pandemic. Partnering with I Squared Capital, a sponsor with deep sector expertise, will allow the Star Leasing team to expand our geographic footprint, better serve our existing customers and offer our industry-leading suite of products and services, including rentals, leasing, sales, maintenance, and over-the-road breakdown services, to more companies as a comprehensive solution to their semi-trailer needs.”

White & Case LLP is legal advisor to I Squared Capital and Ice Miller LLP is the legal advisor to Star Leasing for this transaction.

About I Squared Capital

I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities, digital infrastructure, transport and social infrastructure in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The firm has offices in Miami, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, New York and Singapore.

About Star Leasing Company

Star Leasing was founded in Columbus, OH in 1974. Prior to completion of the ISQ acquisition, Star Leasing had been an “employee-owned” (ESOP) company since 1988. Star currently employs 300+ people across 13 locations in the Midwest and Southeastern parts of the United States. The company operates approximately 19,000+ trailers in its fleet. Star’s overall objective is to serve as the “One Solution” for customers’ semi-trailer needs, whether that be for rental, leasing, maintenance/repair (on both Star rental/lease trailers as well as a customer’s company-owned trailers), as well as the purchase and sale of new & used trailers. Star’s current resources for serving customers’ maintenance needs includes a total of 57 service bays across its current branch shop locations, in addition to a fleet of 54 mobile service trucks for on-site maintenance—all staffed with well-trained certified mechanics. Star also provides over-the-road breakdown services via its own in-house SBS (Star Breakdown Service) department, staffed 24/7/365 by highly-trained Star employees.