Celadon Group Inc. of Indianapolis has reportedly bought a 6.3 percent stake in Van Buren, Ark.-based USA Truck Inc. and is asking for talks on a potential merger.


Shares of USA Truck (Nasdaq: USAK) were up more than 24 percent at mid-day as traders reacted to a 13D filing from rival Celadon (NYSE: CGI). By mid-afternoon USA Truck shared had settled to $9.77, a 19% gain. Celedon was up 4.5% to $9.72.

In its filing, Celadon requested a meeting to discuss an "association" between the two companies including a potential combination. No discussions have been held so far with Van Buren, Ark.-based USA Truck, Celadon said.

Celadon has a market value of about $219 million, more than double USA Truck's $101 million, Bloomberg data shows. USA Truck recently said it expected to post a third-quarter loss due to a significant decrease in the efficiency of its truckload operations.

Celadon posted revenue of $557 million in the fiscal year through June 2011, while USA Truck had sales of $504 million in the same period.

USA Truck has offered the following response to the Celedon filing:

"USA Truck, Inc. acknowledges the Schedule 13D Celadon Group, Inc. filed today. The views of our stockholders are very important to us and we carefully consider their input. Our board of directors will evaluate Celadon's 13D filing in due course. We do not intend to comment further on this matter except as warranted by applicable laws and regulations."