Following six years as a minority stakeholder of Las Vegas-based Ryan’s Express Transportation Services, Century Park Capital Partners purchased the remaining 51 percent of the company this week from founder Michael Haggerty.
Century Park Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in El Segundo, CA, did not disclose the financial terms. Al Sherrer, a Ryan’s Express financial executive, is heading the company for now.
Century Park Capital partnered with Ryan’s Express in April 2006, providing growth capital for expansion and enabling Haggerty to further diversify operations.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Haggerty told BUSRide he was feeling more relaxed with the sale after 20 years of seeing Ryan’s Express through a number of operational changes.
“As an entrepreneur with this industry in my blood, I felt I had done this successfully to this point and was ready to move on,” says Haggerty. “I am enjoying the view from my new perspective of selling buses through CH Trading Bus Sales. I did not feel I could do this and still run Ryan’s Express. I wanted to remove any perception of conflict of competing in the business I am trying to sell to.”
Representing Temsa International, Haggerty says CH Trading has quickly grown from infancy a year and a half ago to making major inroads with high profile companies and motorcoach operators.
Haggerty says with the Century Park Capital purchase, he is now able to stabilize CH Trading. He also said he is bringing in a new team of professionals to move the company forward and direct the Temsa brand in North America.
Haggerty says he is now preparing the 35-foot Temsa model for road shows and demonstrations this fall in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas areas. He adds the introduction of the 30- and 45-foot Temsa coaches is not far off.
— David Hubbard