Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from an ArcBest spokesperson.
Dive Brief:
- ArcBest Corp. laid groundwork for a potential merger or acquisition of the company with a request to shareholders in a filing Monday.
- The company is seeking investors’ permission to lower the voting threshold for a merger or sale from a two-thirds supermajority to a simple majority, the filing said.
- The corporate positioning could fuel further speculation about TFI International or another competitor acquiring the parent company of 100-year-old LTL ABF Freight.
Dive Insight:
ArcBest made other changes to give itself more flexibility in its corporate governance rules late last month.
The changes were made "as part of a broader governance review we conducted that aligns with shareholder feedback, evolving corporate governance practices and the governance structure of the majority of S&P 500 companies," an ArcBest spokesperson said in an email.
The company’s board approved and adopted new bylaws to lower the voting requirement for bylaw amendments to a majority, rather than the previous 75% requirement, according to the filing.
Rumors previously swirled about TFI circling ArcBest last year, after TFI disclosed it had purchased stock in the competitor’s business. But negotiations over new union contracts with ABF Freight and TForce Freight workers got in the way, TFI Chairman, President and CEO Alain Bédard told analysts.
If ArcBest’s maneuver is successful, it could clear a path for a merger between the last two big union LTL carriers, said longtime industry observer Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group.
“It makes it easier,” Jindel said. “I can’t say about likelihood. It makes it easier for Alain Bédard to pursue his interest in the company.”
