MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Northborne Partners is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Universal Transportation Systems ("UTS") in connection with its acquisition by Student Transportation of America ("STA"). Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1992, UTS is one of the largest independent student transportation providers in Ohio, serving school districts, charter schools and universities across the greater Cincinnati and Columbus metropolitan areas. Today, UTS has more than 350 employees and 350 school buses and vans, which operate from terminals in central and southwest Ohio.

Ben Marks, Managing Director at Northborne commented, "Student transportation continued to be a highly sought after sub-vertical within the broader infrastructure landscape, with substantial interest from both established strategic players like STA and funds looking to enter the space and create new platforms." This deal represents Northborne's second completed transaction in student transportation in 2025.

Regarding Northborne's involvement, Geoff Kuzio added, "The Northborne team was a trusted partner in helping us navigate this transaction. Their deep knowledge of the student transportation sector and depth of relationships with the strategic players in the industry were essential in helping us achieve this outcome."

Strauss Troy served as legal advisor to UTS.

About Northborne Partners

Northborne Partners is a preeminent middle market investment banking firm focused on providing M&A advisory services to companies in the industrial, healthcare, services and food & consumer sectors, among others. It specializes in advising private-equity-owned and closely-held businesses on complex sell-side transactions. Northborne Partners is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, please visit northborne.com.

About Universal Transportation Systems 

Founded in 1992, UTS is a leading student transportation provider in Ohio, providing a mix of general education, special education and charter services. The Company serves a mix of public school districts, charter schools and universities from its terminals in Cincinnati and Columbus. For more information, please visit utsohio.com.

About Student Transportation of America

Founded in 1997, STA is North America's second largest and most progressive provider of school transportation services, operating more than 20,000 vehicles in 24 US states, 6 Canadian provinces and 1 Canadian territory. STA's family of local companies deliver safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school districts throughout North America. For more information, please visit ridesta.com.

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SOURCE Northborne Partners