Leste Group, a global alternative investment manager, has entered into an agreement to acquire a minority stake in Billor, a vertically integrated freight and fintech platform for U.S. truck drivers, and set up a $335 million credit facility to accelerate the company’s growth. Additional financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Billor, headquartered in Orlando, Fla., helps truck drivers become owners through its tech-enabled platform offering end-to-end support including Lease-to-Own, Maintenance Finance, Low-Cost Insurance, and Freight Factoring among its services. The Company is building the largest lease-to-own truck ecosystem in the U.S. and is on track to expand its fleet to over 800 trucks by the end of 2025. Billor also recently announced the addition of Billor CoPilot, which leverages AI to help drivers achieve their financial goals, find better loads and routes, ensure safety compliance, increase road security, and provide faster payment processing.
“Our investment will enable Billor to acquire new trucks that generate consistent revenue streams, enhance its technological capabilities, and continue to grow the business,” said Fabricio Bossle, Private Equity Partner at Leste Group. “We also look forward to helping advance the Company’s driver-centric model that provides a path to truck ownership, and its fintech and freight management platform designed to simplify any challenges drivers may face.”
“Leste’s financial and operational expertise will help accelerate our mission of democratizing the transportation market by building the largest fleet of independent trucks in the U.S.,” said Jardel Cardoso, founder and chairman of Billor. “The partnership will also enable us to continue our culture of sustainability at Billor, the first transport company to neutralize 100 percent of carbon emissions in transported cargo.”
“Leste’s investment in Billor continues our strategy of supporting Brazilian entrepreneurs looking to expand their operations in the U.S.,” said Eduardo Karrer, Private Equity Partner at Leste Group. “As the founder of CredPago, which was recently sold for approximately $650 million, as well as other successful Brazilian fintech businesses, Jardel is an ideal partner for us to work with.”