Getting a Lift: Mears turns to private equity investors to take on ride-sharing companies.

In 1939, Paul Mears Jr. bought three cars and started a taxi business. Over the next 80 years, he and his family built Orlando based Mears Transportation into one of the largest taxi and shuttle companies in the Southeast, with a fleet of nearly 1,200 cabs, motor coaches, luxury vehicles and shuttle vans.

The company, whose vehicles are ubiquitous in Orlando, became the primary shuttle concessionaire at Orlando International Airport and won the contract to operate Disney’s Magical Express service. The family became some of the region’s most generous philanthropists, supporting everything from hospitals to Valencia College.

But Mears, like the rest of the taxi industry, has seen its business rocked in recent years by the emergence of ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. So it is now turning to outside investors in hopes of building a more sophisticated technology platform.

In April, Mears announced that it had sold a combined majority stake in the company to a pair of private-equity companies: West Palm Beach-based Palm Beach Capital and New York-based Tri- Artisan Capital Advisors. The deals will mean significant leadership changes for the once family- owned company. Palm Beach Capital will hold a 48% stake, and TriArtisan will take a 32% stake. The Mears family will retain 10%, with the rest held by smaller investors or reserved for executive compensation. Only one family member will retain a board seat — Paul Mears III, the grandson of the company founder, though he will step down as president. Charles Carns will remain CEO.

After market-testing its new app in Central Florida, Mears plans a broader launch around the country.

“With the changing landscape in the transportation business, we are fortunate to have a partnership with Palm Beach Capital that will allow us to grow our business,” Carns said in a statement following the deal. “With Palm Beach Capital’s financial strength and expertise, we look forward to growing our long and successful track record into markets outside Central Florida.”

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