Truckload carrier Knight Transportation has entered into a consulting agreement with another truckload carrier in a move to eventually buy the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The truckload carrier, which Knight would not name, has an annual revenue of about $450 million.

According to Knight, the consulting agreement is aimed at helping to lower the carrier's operating costs. The agreement includes an option to purchase the first 49 percent of the carrier's outstanding stock, followed by the remaining 51 percent.

The terms of the consulting agreement run through May 2012 subject to certain termination rights. During 2009, Knight received about $1.4 million in fees under the deal.

If the acquisition goes through, the move would almost double the size of Phoenix-based Knight, which posted $651.7 million in revenue in 2009 and $50.6 million in net income.

"We expect the challenging truckload market to yield opportunities to continue to capture market share over time," said Kevin Knight, chairman and CEO of the company. "We believe we are well positioned to navigate the challenges of the current environment and thrive as the market improves when truckload capacity decreases and/or freight demand modestly increases."

According to Reuters, Knight has purchased four companies since 1999.