Simon sold to Moyes-owned firm

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Utah on Monday approved the sale of Simon Transportation Services to Central Refrigerated Service Inc. for $152 million, news sources have reported. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the sale means workers will keep their jobs when Central takes over April 22. This deal keeps Simon under the control of Jerry Moyes, Simon Transportation's majority stockholder. Moyes says the purchase of Simon is unconnected to the operations of his Phoenix-based Swift Transportation, which purchased M.S. Carriers last year. "Simon's aim was to keep the operations together and streamline it, and I think we've succeeded," said Daniel Doyle, attorney for Dick Simon Trucking Inc., a subsidiary of Simon Transportation Services. The deal involves the sale of $100 million in leased trucks and equipment and another $52 million in other assets to Central, which was created to acquire Simon's assets.