The combined operations will run a fleet of 35-plus chauffeured vehicles, ranging from sedans to minibuses. Financial terms of the deal and estimated annual revenues were not disclosed. Among corporate luxury ground transportation in Colorado, Hermes now ranks second only to Presidential Worldwide Transportation.
Hermes, co-owned by Jorge Sanchez, will eventually absorb the Integrity website and brand, operating under the Hermes name. Integrity Worldwide Transportation, founded in 2012 and based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, was owned by Don Eisler, who will remain with the company as an advisor and senior chauffeur. One of the founders of Integrity, longtime Denver operator Gene Cookenboo, retired from the company before the deal with Hermes evolved.
Hermes Worldwide will move its operations to Integrity’s 11,000 square-foot facility once its lease expires, Sanchez told LCT. With the added clients, assets and employees of Integrity, Hermes Worldwide is now positioned to grow beyond its deep corporate client base into the private jet aviation, entertainment, and meetings and events client markets. Hermes is also switching to a cloud-based phone system and upgraded reservation software, making it better suited to its expanded, mobile-oriented, business clientele.
In addition to the Denver metro area, Hermes will serve clients in the state’s global tourist destinations of Colorado Springs, Vail, and Aspen.
The deal evolved after Eisler approached Sanchez about selling Integrity so he could transition into a more supportive professional role. While Eisler welcomes the extra freedom from supervising daily operations, he has no plans to retire and will chauffeur for the combined companies.
“Having been in the corporate limousine business for over 20 years I was seeking an opportunity to help expand on what Integrity was able to offer its clients and position ourselves to better compete in a highly competitive market,” Eisler said in a press release. “It was important we found a company to join forces with that is young, energetic and very integrity minded with a cutting edge knowledge of the new technology necessary to advance in this industry. After examining the local market, I felt Hermes best fit that profile.”
Sanchez told LCT Integrity provides the added boost to the company’s long-term expansion goals. The companies, which had shared affiliate work on occasion, proved compatible with their experienced chauffeurs and rate structures, he said.
“We’ve always known of each other, but not known each other,” Sanchez said. “His chauffeur staff has many years of experience. Collectively, we now have well over 75 years of experience. That’s important to us because it’s difficult to find good chauffeurs.”
Coincidentally, Hermes had outgrown its Denver location during the last two years and was looking for a larger facility in a challenging commercial real estate market in a city booming in population and jobs this decade.
“We were delighted when this opportunity presented itself to both find a new location and immediately expand,” Sanchez said in a press release. “The prior management team at Integrity leveraged their industry experience to quickly build an experienced team and as we did our due diligence, it was becoming more apparent this was going to be a great opportunity for the combined companies. We are excited to bring on their experienced employees and look forward to their contributions helping Hermes continue to realize our growth plans.”
The expanded fleet brings a wider variety of brands, makes and models. Among the offerings: Chrysler 300 sedans, Lincoln MKT sedans, Lincoln MKT Town Cars, Cadillac XTS sedans, Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans, a Hyundai Equus sedan, Chevrolet Suburbans, Cadillad Escalades, Ford Transits and vans, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, Turtle Top minibuses and Grech Motors minibuses.
Sanchez co-owns Hermes Wordwide with his wife Rocio, qualifying it as both a woman- and minority-owned business. They founded the company in 2007.
Keywords
business deals business expansion Colorado operators Denver mergers & acquisitions operation growth
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