(Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc (N:UPS), the world's largest courier company, said it would buy Coyote Logistics from private equity firm Warburg Pincus for $1.8 billion to expand its full-truckload services.
Coyote Logistics, which reported revenue of $2.1 billion last year, connects customers with truck operators and has a network of more than 35,000 operators in North America, UPS said.
Brokers such as Coyote Logistics and XPO Logistics Inc (N:XPO) have reported rapid revenue growth in the past few quarters as the demand for trucks jumped due to widespread bottlenecks on rail networks.
"The brokered full-truckload freight segment is a high growth market and we expect it will continue to outpace other transportation segments," UPS Chief Executive David Abney said in a statement on Friday.
Chicago-based Coyote Logistics operates in the food and beverage, consumer goods, paper and packaging, industrial as well as retail markets, UPS said.
UPS expects the deal to close within 30 days and add to its earnings in 2016.
The company's stock had fallen 9 percent this year up to Thursday's close of $101.40. The stock was marginally higher in premarket trading on Friday.