One difference between the Conway Now sale and any Panther sale that may come to pass is that the Conway drivers only learned of it after the deal was done. Their first word came via a Qualcomm message notifying them that the deed was done. In this case, word of a possible Panther sale is preceeding whatever deal may come to be.
Yes, we all know this one is coming, because of how Fenway has operated in the past. They buy a company, get what they can out of it (usually for about 5 years), then sell it off, usually keeping it in sound financial condition when they do. So that Panther was looking to IPO or is now looking to be sold isn't a surprise at all.
When we got word via the QC that Panther had bought Con-Way NOW, we had to reply on the QC to announce our intentions to stay with Panther or have the contract with Con-Way NOW dissolved right then and there. There was a phone number to call for questions, and a Web site that had details and all the answers to the FAQs. I guess it was the fleet owners who had to respond in some way for those who were not driving their own trucks.
The majority of drivers and trucks stayed on at Panther, at least for a few months. A few refused outright, immediately, mostly because of proper relationships with Panther. Like, the one straight truck team who had just finished their first week with Con-Way NOW, after having left Panther the previous week. That one was pretty funny. Others stayed at least long enough to get their stay-on bonus (which was 30 days, IIRC). For some the differences between Con-Way NOW and Panther operations was just too much, and they decided to leave Panther. Some left quicker than others. Others stayed. There are still several who are still there.
Those who immediately went to other carriers, many of them were able to get signed on quickly with other carriers, as those carriers were already looking to lease on new trucks, especially already experienced drivers. Others had to wait for natural turnover to open up some spots. Some got out of the business altogether, since they were going to anyway and they chose to speed up their exit. Some stayed and then after realizing Panther wasn't for them, began the process of choosing a new carrier.
Did Panther get their money's worth? I think so. For, I think is was $9 million, Panther got a rather large and varied customer base, particularly in places where they were previously not very strong, like out west, a lot of already paid for and installed Qualcomm units that they continued to charge us for, and they got a fleet of mostly experienced professionals added to their own. No orientation was given or necessary. Driver handbooks and lettering were sent out to to drivers in the field, and the transition was rather smooth (read, cheaper than having to recruit all those people, that's for sure). It was a wild weekend and the first week was a little crazy, but it was quickly business as usual, for the most part.
Three days before the buyout I brought my new Sprinter on with Con-Way NOW, and my paperwork on that hadn't really even filtered through Con-Way NOW at that point, so when the buyout happened, Panther had nothing on me and didn't have a clue who I was when I called in. Rather than deal with all of that over the phone, I drove from Davenport to Seville and reported in on Monday to get everything squared away. It took all day. It was organized chaos, to say the least. Contract, insurance, all the normal paperwork was done. Finally at 5PM I was issued a truck number and we took off the old lettering (which was really easy after only three days) and installed the new lettering. Got my first load with Panther the next morning.
There were a few Con-Way NOW customers who were Con-Way NOW customers because they had left Panther specifically for Con-Way NOW, and they quickly left Panther again, much like the straight truck team mentioned earlier. One important customer in particular they had to court for a couple of years before they got them back. I would imagine that if another carrier buys Panther, the same thing will happen with several of their customers, too. The buyer may not lose as many drivers and trucks initially, or they may lose more, as Panther is very fleet owner oriented, so large numbers of trucks could stay, or bail, en masse. I'm sure incentives to stay on for owners, and maybe drivers, will accompany any sale, though.
