Trident’s Priority Investment

Trident, a private equity firm founded in 2017 specializing in acquiring U.S.-based small businesses, has made a strategic investment in Priority Courier Experts.

Priority, founded in 1996, is an expedited local B2B delivery provider serving customers in virtually all industries, including building products, third-party logistics, healthcare, electrical equipment, food and beverage and automotive in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

Priority’s expansive fleet of both CDL commercial vehicles and parcel vehicles and focus on service make it a leader in the Twin Cities.

Trident is partnering with Bluejay Capital, an operating partner with deep expertise in transportation and logistics businesses. The Bluejay team has more than 120 years of combined management-level operating experience in the sector and specializes in executing geographic expansion strategies.

Mark Cossack, formerly president at Priority, will serve as the company’s new CEO. His expertise will allow him to leverage the company’s existing culture of success to catalyze its next phase of development and expansion into new markets. Cossack is an executive board member of the Minnesota Trucking Association and a board director of the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association.

Ted Burchell, formerly Priority’s executive vice president, will serve as president. As part of his expanded role, Burchell will continue to oversee sales and customer service.

“We are thrilled to have Trident and Bluejay as partners in pursuing the next frontier of growth for Priority,” said Cossack.

“We will continue to build on our values and partnership with our employees, drivers and customers in our community and beyond.”

Leveraging Bluejay’s industry insights and growth expertise, Trident aims to further enhance Priority’s local market position and expand its footprint to other cities to meet customer demand for increasingly expedited delivery service.

Priority, founded in 1996, is an expedited local B2B delivery provider.

“Priority has built an incredible reputation in the Twin Cities over its nearly three decades of best-in-class service,” said Eric Taylor, founder and CEO of Trident.

“We are eager to join forces with Mark, Ted and Bluejay to build upon the strong success the company has achieved to date and to expand its services into new geographies to better serve customers.”

• This investment represents the third closed platform transaction for the Trident American Dreams Fund I, and the seventh platform acquisition Trident has made since 2017.