Deutsche Post DHL Group (DP DHL) has revealed plans to acquire ocean freight forwarding expert JF Hillebrand Group and its subsidiaries at an equity value of around €1.5bn.
The move follows the company recently admitting that it is taking an orrortunistic approach to freight forwarding acquisitions, despite the spate of takeovers recently announced by some of its peers.
Hillebrand is a global service provider that specialises in ocean freight forwarding, the transport and logistics of beverages, non-hazardous bulk liquids and other products that require special care.
Hillebrand, which generated revenue of around €1.4bn over the last twelve months, will ship c.500,000 TEUs in 2021, and has more than 2,700 employees worldwide.
Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL Group commented, “With the growing maturity of our freight forwarding business, this bolt-on acquisition of Hillebrand is highly complementary to our existing portfolio. In line with our Group Strategy, we strengthen our core logistics business and deliver profitable long-term growth.”
“Using our financial strength, we are able to pursue quality investments while reinforcing our unchanged commitment to deliver on investor return expectations.”
Tim Scharwath, Chief Executive Officer- Freight at DHL Global Forwarding, “After concentrating on improving the business operationally, we are now able to direct our core business towards sustainably higher margins by broadening our reach and service offering in specialised segments.”
“In this context, Hillebrand is an exceptional opportunity and an excellent fit with our strategy. We are excited to work with the entire Hillebrand team to further develop their best-in-class business on our platform.”
