East Rutherford, New Jersey-based Amber Road, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, on June 5 announced a new partnership with Dow Jones Risk & Compliance to offer enhanced Restricted Party Screening (RPS).

Dow Jones Risk & Compliance’s Sanctions Ownership Research (SOR) list has been integrated with Amber Road’s Global Knowledge database, which helps automate RPS processes to quickly vet customers, suppliers and other trading partners against 600+ restricted and sanctioned party lists sourced from government institutions worldwide. Automated RPS helps companies mitigate risk and avoid doing business with undesirable entities.

“With businesses under more pressure than ever before to focus on compliance, we’re confident that our Sanctions Ownership Research data is the most comprehensive and accurate in the market,” says Alex Tame, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance’s global head of Partners and Content Integration. “Working with Dow Jones’ SOR content will give Amber Road customers the data they need to make better informed decisions and meet their regulatory needs.”

The U.S. government blocks U.S. companies from doing business with entities that are majority-owned by individuals on the Specially Designated National list. Ultimate Beneficial Owner compliance, also known as the “50 percent rule,” requires diligent research on the part of importers and exporters into an organization’s structure–a daunting task for even the most well-equipped compliance team.

“The addition of Dow Jones’ SOR list to the screening process will help our customers stay in compliance and avoid doing business with firms owned in part or wholly controlled by sanctioned persons,” says Ty Bordner, Amber Road’s SVP of Marketing and Business Development.

Learn more about Amber Road’s SOR screening solutions by visiting: http://bit.ly/SORscreening.

DASEKE CLOSES ACQUISITION OF AVEDA TRANSPORTATION AND ENERGY SERVICES

Addison, Texas-based Daseke Inc., the largest owner of flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics solutions in North America, completed the acquisition of Calgary, Canada-based Aveda Transportation and Energy Services, one of the largest and fastest-growing oil rig moving companies in North America.

Under terms of the agreement, Daseke paid 70 cents U.S. per share, or about $42.6 million, plus the payoff of $54.8 million in Aveda debt, net of cash. The consideration was comprised of approximately $27.3 million in cash and $15.3 million (1,612,979 shares) in Daseke stock. Equity represented approximately 16 percent of the total consideration. The transaction was financed with cash on hand, and all figures have been translated from Canadian dollars into U.S. dollars at an exchange rate of 0.78.

“Daseke’s two core principles are investing in great people and building an organization of scale,” says Don Daseke, chairman and CEO. “Aveda strongly builds upon these core principles and is an exceptional fit for our platform. Beyond the strategic rationale, this transaction also presents numerous synergies not contemplated in the purchase price. Aveda outsources up to 35 percent of its long-distance rig movers to other carriers, and we have the equipment to capture some of this revenue through our various operating companies. In addition to cross-selling, we have also identified other benefits of scale in the way of purchasing, fuel and insurance.”

Aveda President and CEO Ronnie Witherspoon also sees the deal as a win-win, remarking, “Joining the Daseke team makes our company stronger than ever.”

AMERICAN AIRLINES BECOMES FIRST U.S. CARRIER TO LAUNCH CUBA CARGO SERVICE

American Airlines recently became the first U.S. passenger carrier to begin cargo service in Cuba. The airline now offers mail service, including correspondence, parcels and express mail, into and out of José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana, Cuba’s capital city and leading commercial center.

Havana is American’s principal destination from the U.S. with one daily fight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and four daily flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) scheduled to increase to five daily flights in October. The MIA flights are operated with Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the CLT flight is operated with the Airbus A319.

“As the leading U.S. carrier to Cuba we are excited to launch cargo service to the island,” says David Vance, American’s vice president of Cargo Operations. “Our teams on the ground in the U.S. and in Cuba have worked hard to make this a reality. This new service will benefit families in both countries.”

American is the leading U.S. airline in Cuba, with nine daily flights to five destinations in the country, including flights between MIA and HAV, Holguin (HOG), Santa Clara (SNU), Varadero (VRA) and Camagüey (CMW), and between CLT and HAV. American has served Cuba since 1991.

TRADE OFFICIAL UNDER TRUMP AND OBAMA JOINS KING & SPALDING

King & Spalding announced May 29 that Bradford L. Ward joined as a partner in the firm’s Government Matters practice group in the Washington, D.C., office.

Ward for the past nine years served in various roles at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, most recently as the director of the Interagency Center on Trade Implementation, Monitoring and Enforcement. At King & Spalding, he will focus on international trade policy, market access and trade remedy litigation before federal agencies, U.S. courts and WTO dispute settlement panels.

“Brad’s trade policy experience under both the Obama and Trump administrations makes him a substantive resource for clients navigating the evolving international trade environment,” says Wick Sollers, head of the firm’s Government Matters practice group.

“The U.S. domestic industry focus of King & Spalding’s International Trade practice along with its geographically diverse platform make it the right combination for my return to private practice,” said Ward.