Transportation management firm Transplace Inc. said Thursday it has acquired another third-party logistics provider, M33 Integrated, completing its fifth deal in five years.

Owned by Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, Frisco, Texas-based Transplace is one of the largest freight brokers in North America and provides other supply chain services, including cloud-based transportation management software. M33 provides specializes in the packaging, chemical and advanced materials sectors of transportation management services.

The deal would enable Transplace to add a portfolio of 60 to 70 clients to Transplace's its technology platform, said Tom Sanderson, the company's chief executive, and adds 165 employees in Greensboro, N.C., a "key operating center that is a great place to recruit talent."

He declined to disclose the value of the deal. Transplace generates over $1.6 billion in annual revenue.

The acquisition is the latest in a flurry of consolidation activity in the logistics arena in recent years, including an announcement last week that XPO Logistics Inc. would buy trucker Con-way Inc. for $3 billion. That deal represented a departure from the asset-light strategies that most freight brokers employ, prompting speculation that others would follow.

Transplace is looking to continue acquiring about one company per year, but Mr. Sanderson said he plans to stick to asset-light targets. "XPO has a very bold strategy. It isn't common for companies that are non-asset-based to buy asset-based companies," he said. But "we are a non-asset based company. We don't buy trucks, trailers and hard assets. We're buying revenue, earnings, and talent."

"When you have a chance to pick up a base of customers and talent through acquisition, that's an excellent way to grow," he said.

Write to Loretta Chao at loretta.chao@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2015 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)

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