Geodis hits the acquisition trail

Logistics group Geodis is to continue its ambitious expansion plans by targeting acquisitions in Asia and the US.

The deputy CEO of Geodis Group, JeanLouis Demeulenaere, told IFW it would look to develop its freight forwarding business through takeovers that would bring immediate increases in volumes and improve its network.

We are busy looking at acquisitions and we will invest in some external growth this year,  he said.

We’ve got different targets, but it would mainly be forwarders - although some of the companies we are looking at deal with contract logistics at the same time.

We need to reinforce our network in the US, as we are too small there and don’t have critical size.
Demeulenaere said reaching critical size would improve Geodis’s buying power, improve network coverage and reinforce the company in the transpacific market.

He also confirmed Geodis was looking at targets in the Asian freight forwarding community.

Demeulenaere said if the negotiations were successful, there would be an announcement in the summer.

Meanwhile Kuehne + Nagel (KN) has revealed it is also looking to make acquisitions, but in eastern Europe.

Bob Mihok, president and CEO eastern Europe, told IFW: This crisis is making our mid-sized competitors weak, so we are looking at acquisitions in many countries.

KN is a cash-rich company, so we can support the growth without needing to go to banks, he added.
Source: ifw cargo