The IPO Buzz: Proficient Auto Logistics (PAL) Prices IPO at $15 Mid-Point

Following its IPO road map, Proficient Auto Logistics  (PAL) priced its IPO at $15.00 – the mid-point of its $14.00-to-$16.00 range on Wednesday night, May 8, 2024. The company, as expected, sold 14.33 million shares – the number in the prospectus – at $15.00 each to raise $215.0 million. The Jacksonville, Florida-based auto transportation company is a new company created by the combination of five founding companies. The owners of those five founding companies will receive a combined cash payment of $180.4 million, which represents about 84 percent of the IPO’s proceeds. Shares of Proficient Auto Logistics are expected to start trading today – Thursday, May 9, 2024 – on NASDAQ. Stifel, Raymond James and William Blair were the joint book-runners. CEO nominee Richard O’Dell indicated an interest in buying up to $3 million of stock – or about 1.4 percent of the IPO, the prospectus says. Proficient Auto Logistics, based in Jacksonville, Florida, says that it is being formed in connection with this IPO through the combination of the Founding Companies to operate one of the largest auto transportation fleets in North America. The company will use about 1,130 auto transport vehicles and trailers daily, including 615 company-owned transport vehicles and trailers, the prospectus says. As of Nov. 30, 2023, the company had 649 employees. Its customers include GM, BMW, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz, as well as EV producers such as Telsa and Rivian. Other customers include auto dealers, auto auctions, rental car companies and auto leasing companies. In the prospectus, Proficient Auto Logistics described the company as “a leading non-union specialized freight company focused on providing auto transportation and logistics services.” Proficient Auto Logistics says in the prospectus that – on a pro forma combined basis – it had combined net income of $9.1 million on combined operating revenue of $414.6 million for the year that ended Dec.31, 2023. These figures represented results for all five founding companies combined. (For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.) Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board. To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message. Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions. Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums) is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.