Highlight Motor Group takes on Credit Mutuel Equity as minority shareholder

Highlight Motor Group has partnered with Crédit Mutuel Equity which is the North American private equity arm of France’s major banking group, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. The private equity firm invested $55MM of capital and will act as an influential minority shareholder assisting in Highlight’s plans for further growth.  

Highlight has been growing rapidly and has been recognized by Growth 500 as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies for four consecutive years. Highlight was also named as Top Fleet Employers and according to the Growth 500 report, now have over 650 full-time employees on board across their four terminals in Canada and the USA. There are no signs of slowing down and this partnership only helps to accelerate both their short and long-term development strategies.
Kirk Kalinitchenko, Founder, President and CEO of Highlight Motor Group exclaims, “I’m very excited to welcome Crédit Mutuel Equity as a leading minority shareholder. They bring a track record of success and reliability to the table and share the same passion for delivering the highest quality of service possible.”
David Dickel, Managing Director of Crédit Mutuel Equity in Canada stated, “Kirk founded Highlight Motor Group at the age of 25, starting out in the transportation industry as a driver/owner-operator of a single truck. His dedication, field experience and leadership have enabled HMG to become a dominant player in the North American transportation and logistics market over the past decade, with the strongest growth in Canada according to the Growth 500 ranking.”
From the one truck operation over a decade ago, Highlight had steadily increasing sales of $120MM (2018) and now boasts over 430 late-model, fully-equipped tractors and more than 800 trailers of various configurations including heated and reefer units.
Kirk adds, “We saw a demand in the market, we saw room to grow and we continue to see room to grow much further still. Partnering with Crédit Mutuel Equity helps us to accelerate our plans and is a perfect marriage as we share the same vision for our future. We are not disclosing any specific details at this time but you can rest assured – there are exciting times ahead for Highlight Motor Group!”