[Hammertime1981]

I have been approached about taking over a small fleet of 5 owner operator trucking co. The owner wants to drop it in my partners lap as well as myself.
The problem is he is 75 yrs. Old (the trucking co. Owner) & has a lien of 50K on the co.
My thought is we go in & run this co. For 2 yrs until he gets the lien paid off & then we put the co, in our name.
During this 2 yr. Peroid we would have total control of EVERYTHING. And the owner would receive approx. 2k per month for 24 months.to pay off his debt.

Any feedback is appreciated.

[Stringer]

Have you had an CPA look into the books beyond the lien?

I certainly would do this and get a complete picture before I would do anything.

Also I would take a close look at the sales and progression of the company. Get a close look at the last five years at least.

And my last question is: Do you and your partner have experience in the trucking industry? I believe that should be a certainty.

Good luck, let us know how this plays out.

Stringer

[Hammertime1981]

Stringer, thank you for the response. We had a serious curve ball thrown to us. For starters I currently own a trucking co.a Freight brokerage agency & (a power wash co. since July of this year).
I started my trucking co. back in 2001.
Here is where the curve ball comes in. The owner of the co. sent us a copy of his books. He originally told me he had 6 trucks of his own, He lied . All owner operators leased on to his co.Re Flag #1. He told me he had a 50K lien on the co. He lied Red Flag #2. The lien is 250K. He stated co . Was doing 1.35 mil. A yr. gross. It was showing on the books 825,000.00 He was running in the red big time. So my partner & I backed out in over drive, very quickly.
Stringer, I do thank you for your help . This was the 1st time anyone has approached me about taking over a co. That is why I asked the question.