The Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) share price is up today after the company announced the acquisition of Loadshift, a heavy haulage transport marketplace.
After reaching an intraday high of $1.08 in early trading, the Freelancer share price plummeted to $1.00 before surging back to $1.05 at the time of writing, up 5%.
Engaged in freelancing, outsourcing services, and crowdsourcing marketplace, Freelancer offers software development, writing, data entry and design services.
Acquisition lifts the Freelancer share price
In today's update, Freelancer announced that its partially owned subsidiary, Freightlancer, had acquired Loadshift for $7.7 million.
Founded in March 2007, Loadshift has grown to become Australia's largest online heavy haulage freight marketplace with 68,837 freight requests for 85.8 million kilometres of freight required in CY 2020. In FY20, Loadshift reported delivering an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of approximately $766,000.
Freelancer owns 53% of its partially owned subsidiary.
New investors, new CEO
The company also advised today that Freightlancer had received a $3.7 million investment from Maas Group Holdings (ASX: MGH) chief executive officer (CEO) Wes Maas, and EMS Group CEO Tom Cavanagh.
Startive Ventures, a venture fund focused on global technology and internet startup opportunities, also participated in investment.
EMS is now a division of Maas, a diversified industrial group with services expanding across construction materials, property, civil infrastructure and underground mining and tunnelling divisions.
Cavanagh will join Freightlancer as chief executive officer, bringing his 20 years of experience in mining, tunnelling, civil construction and technology industries.
The Freelancer share price has been surging
The Freelancer share price has surged more than 70% since the listing of Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) on 23 March.
Before that, the Freelancer share price had been range-bound, bouncing back and forth between 45 cents and 62 cents since September 2020.
From a financial and operational perspective, the company has also performed strongly with its quarterly results showing an uplift in gross payment volumes and cash receipts.
