St. Louis, MO, January 2024
Capital For Business, Inc.® (CFB) is pleased to announce that it recently completed a majority recapitalization investment in Central States Bus Sales, Inc. (CSBS). Headquartered in Fenton, MO, CSBS is the largest authorized dealer of Blue Bird Corporation (“Blue Bird”) school buses in the United States, exclusively serving Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Alabama. CSBS has a longstanding relationship with Blue Bird, a leading school bus manufacturer with gas, diesel, low- and zero-emission school buses fueled by propane and natural gas, and electric powered (EV) buses in operation today. CSBS also sells and services new and used school and commercial buses utilized by school districts, municipalities, elderly care facilities, disabled transport service and other organizations.
CFB partnered with Patriot Capital (Patriot), Independent Bankers Capital Funds (IBCF), Konza Valley Capital, Inc. (KVCI) and Jeff Reitz, President & CEO of CSBS, to complete the transaction. The entire CSBS team will remain to lead the Company into a new growth period.
“We are excited to work with our investment partners to ensure the long-term success of our great company and allow it to grow and expand in the future,” commented Jeff Reitz, President & CEO of CSBS. “We are also pleased that we will be able to continue providing excellent new and used buses and quality service to our customers. You can look for continued investment and growth in the future from CSBS as the Company explores additional opportunities to service our customers and expand our coverage territory, as we just recently started doing in the state of Alabama.”
CFB Vice President Tim Buening noted: “We are very excited to continue our long-term partnership, which started in 2010, with Jeff and the entire team at CSBS, a company with a strong reputation of providing quality buses and service to its customer base. Founded in 1975, CSBS has grown to become the largest authorized dealer of Blue Bird school buses in the U.S. and is viewed as a market leader by providing expert advice, support and service to school districts, municipalities and other organizations across its regional markets. We look forward to leveraging CSBS’s reputation and solid foundation in the industry to pursue additional growth and service excellence.”
About Capital For Business
CFB is a St. Louis-based private investment firm, owned by Commerce Bancshares, Inc., providing capital to middle-market businesses with proven management teams and a high potential for growth. Founded in 1959, CFB is one of the oldest Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) in the nation and is focused on control buyouts of value-added manufacturing, distribution and business services companies throughout the United States.