Monday, January 3, 2011

Suddath purchases Barrett FOR REAL this time

I am sure we can all remember the big news that came out in October of 2004 stating that United agent Barrett Moving & Storage was being purchased by fellow United agent Suddath Relocation. It was all the talk on the street, but when it came down to it, the purchase never happened. It was an uncertain time putting employees in a compromising state of mind, worried about job stability and their futures. If you don't remember this big news story in 2004, you can brush up on it here:
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102104/bus_16972527.shtml

October 2010, brought a repeat of this very story. This time though, the purchase looked like it was going to happen. Barrett's owner, Bob Eidsvold, decided to sell his moving company to UniGroup giant, Suddath. This time around, there were no press releases or news announcements. Rather, companywide emails announced the news just to employees and a conference call described each employees future of being transferred over from Barrett to Suddath in the new year.

We were told that the sale was final and complete on 1/1/11. Barrett will continue operating under the name Barrett. Employees will keep their Barrett email addresses and business cards. Salespeople will continue representing the name Barrett, but Barrett will be known as "A Suddath Relocation Company."

To date, we have not been able to find any official press releases or any information linking the two companies together. With a history as long and positive as Barrett's, the name recognition is undoubtedly one of the best assets Suddath purchased in this transaction.

While we have seen MANY companies purchased by larger entities over the past 2 years, this is one of the largest purchases that has been made. For the most part, we have seen smaller companies sell off their assets and get gobbled up by much larger companies during this economic downturn. While Suddath is larger than Barrett, Barrett was still one of the larger United agents out there. The positive side of this purchase is that it looks like all of the employees have been able to keep their jobs and will move forward just as they always have. They really didn't skip a beat in their day to day work lives while the transaction was completed on paper. This purchase will give Suddath a presence in the northern half of the US and undoubtedly will aid in Suddath's continued growth as one of United's largest and most profitable agents. We wish all parties involved the best of luck in this new venture.

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