LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — A high-end limousine operation based along California’s Gold Coast was recently put up for sale so its owner and founder can focus more on his technology ventures.
Midnight Express, owned by Sid Forougi, comes with eight fleet vehicles and an extensive book of business throughout Southern California cultivated over more than 20 years. The company received a valuation from Tenney & Associates, a leading limousine industry M&A and commercial transportation broker.
“The company has big name clients in Orange County who are celebrities and work in business,” said Forougi, who named a few of them to LCT on condition they not be published. “They are very loyal.”
Estimated annual revenues for the operation run just below $1 million, Forougi told LCT. The company has six vehicles based in Laguna Niguel in Orange County and two in San Diego. Fleet vehicle models include Cadillac XTS, Lincoln MKT, Chevrolet Suburban, and one stretch limousine. The company has been a BostonCoach affiliate.
Forougi plans to devote more time to product development at his other company, e-LANTiS, which specializes in patent-pending integration and software technologies.
He and his wife Veronica founded Midnight Express in 1995 with one 120-in. white stretch limousine. At the time, Sid was finishing up an engineering degree while Veronica worked for Nordstrom, which became one of their first corporate clients.
“I went to school in the morning and then went into the office in the afternoon and also drove at night,” said Forougi, who came to the U.S. from Iran on a student visa to continue his education, and later decided to live permanently in San Diego. “It helped pay for my education.”
The company peaked at 25 vehicles in 2014 when Forougi restructured operations, taking the fleet down to 15 vehicles and then eight this year.
“I have been maintaining the company but not planning to expand it,” Forougi said. “I’ve prepared it for [a new owner] and would like to sell it someone willing to grow it and adapt to a new generation of technologies.”
Experienced operators who are interested in the company should contact Forougi at sid@midnightexpress.co.
Keywords
business deals California operators entrepreneurship Information Technology mergers & acquisitions Sid Forougi
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