Barings has provided senior secured credit facilities supporting Quad-C’s acquisition of Armstrong Transport Group. Financial terms of the acquisition and financing were not disclosed.
Barings served as administrative agent for the credit facilities. In this role, Barings will coordinate administrative matters between the borrower and participating lenders, including payments, reporting and compliance with the financing agreement.
Senior secured credit facilities are generally backed by specified borrower assets and have priority over unsecured debt in the event of a default. The structure gives Quad-C acquisition financing while providing lenders with collateral protections.
Armstrong is a third-party logistics platform that connects commercial shippers with transportation carriers through a network of independent agents and direct brokers.
The company provides full truckload, heavy-haul, flatbed, temperature-controlled, less-than-truckload and cross-border freight brokerage services across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Full truckload shipping generally involves one customer’s freight occupying an entire truck, while less-than-truckload services combine shipments from multiple customers. Armstrong does not need to own the trucks used for each shipment because its brokerage platform matches available carrier capacity with shipper demand.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Armstrong operates through independent agency offices and direct brokers. The company generates approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenue and has been ranked among North America’s 15 largest freight brokerages.
Quad-C believes Armstrong has differentiated itself through its technology investments, independent-agent structure and relationships with carriers, brokers and commercial shippers.
The private equity firm intends to support Armstrong’s management team as it expands the logistics platform. Barings also indicated that it could provide financing for future acquisitions pursued by Quad-C.
Quad-C was founded in 1989 and focuses on middle-market services and industrial companies. The firm has invested $4.9 billion across 91 platform businesses and more than 418 add-on acquisitions.
Barings managed approximately $502 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026. The alternative investment manager provides credit, real asset and capital solutions to companies and institutional investors.
KEY QUOTES:
“Barings is excited to partner with Quad-C through the acquisition of Armstrong.”
Doug Koch, Managing Director in Barings’ North America Direct Lending Group
“We are excited to support the management team in the next stage of expansion.”
Michael Brooks, Partner at Quad-C
