Rice, Unruh, Reynolds Co., the prominent East and Gulf coast shipping agency has announced that it has merged with its senior global partner, GAC. Under the terms of the agreement, GAC has acquired all of RUR’s stock in a transaction which has been under negotiation for the past six months.
RUR Chairman and CEO, John Reynolds, said the negotiations had been driven by the recognition that the two companies shared common service values and a strong commitment to developing long-term personal relationships among customers and staff. “It’s a common sense move to bring GAC firmly into the RUR operation here in the US,” Mr Reynolds said.
“We have been a partner with GAC for the past three years and in that time it has become abundantly clear that closer ties can only add strength to RUR’s operations and deliver added benefits to our customers.”
GAC President, Lars Säfverström, said RUR’s 14 offices and 50 staff, operating at major ports on the US East and Gulf coasts, would benefit from the tighter connection to GAC’s global network of operations.
“The ways our two companies work are very similar and there is a near-perfect fit between our two corporate cultures,” Mr Säfverström said. “The acquisition underlines GAC’s “Vision X-Global Reach” strategy and demonstrates that global expansion can be achieved through pursuing mutual business interests and does not require aggressive takeover bids or undermining tactics.
“GAC is proud to be associated with RUR and its staff and we expect that both GAC customers and RUR customers will benefit from the acquisition. GAC’s coverage of the US West coast and RUR’s strength on the East and Gulf coasts gives us complete coverage at all US ports and terminals.
Mr Säfverström said that while the two companies would continue to operate separately for the forseeable future, efficiencies would be gained by consolidating marketing, accounting, and insurance operations, sharing IT platforms and cooperating with hub agency management.
Under the agreement, John Reynolds will remain with the company for a minimum of three years and RUR President Bob Bandos for a minimum of 10 years, both in their present positions.
Mr Säfverström said these long term arrangements sent a clear message to RUR customers and staff that there would be stability and an ongoing commitment to high service standards, from people at all levels of the company.
