Navigation Capital Partners’ Brown Trucking
, a Georgia-based shipper, will acquire Schrader Trucking Company, a similar company based in Tennessee.

Terms of the deal were not publicized and calls seeking comment were not acknowledged by press time.

Schrader operates trucks in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Canada. Its president, Phil Schrader, will leave, but co-owner and vice president Tom Hodge will remain with the company.

In 2008, Navigation acquired James Brown Contracting and affiliated subsidiaries and, partnering with Atlanta-based PE firm VVS Capital, formed James Brown Holdings.

When the initial deal was struck, Brian Kinsey was installed as the chief executive of the company, which has grown via several deals to acquire similar regional trucking operations since.

John Richardson, managing partner of Navigation, said the private equity firm and its Brown Trucking management will continue to build on the company. David Panton, partner with Navigation, also worked on the transaction.

Navigation was formed in 2007 when Richardson and Larry Mock, formerly the CEO and founder of Mellon Ventures, bought a portfolio of the companies from the group and formed separate private equity firm.

Wells Fargo Bank was primary lender for the deal and Hancock Capital Management provided additional financing. Barnes and Thornburg was legal advisor.

The shipping space has been hard hit over the course of the recession, thanks to dwindling truckloads, but private equity firms have stepped in recently to make consolidation buys and also provide growth capital to logistics technology firms that support the industry. Vector Capital recently bought Trafficmaster Plc, a UK logistics firm, for £73.3 million. Other PE buyers in the space include Oak Hill Capital Partners, Harbour Group, GenNx360 Capital Partners, Apax Partners and Calera Capital.