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(Reuters) – French shipping company CMA CGM will buy British logistics company Wincanton for about $700 million in an all-cash deal that will allow the Marseille-based logistics company to join Britain’s supermarket sector.
The acquisition, announced through the two corporations on Friday, would allow CMA CGM, controlled by the French-Lebanese billionaire Saade family, to add a new layer of warehouse and grocery management expertise, with Wincanton operating from more than 170 locations across Britain. and Ireland.
The transaction follows a series of acquisitions through CMA CGM in the logistics sector, marked by the $5. 5 billion bid for Bolloré’s logistics unit (a transaction that has yet to be finalized) and beyond the acquisitions of automotive logistics company Gefco and freight forwarder CEVA logistique.
Cash-rich, CMA CGM is privately controlled through the French-Lebanese billionaire Saadé family. The group, which benefited from higher freight rates and congested supply chains without delay after the COVID-19 pandemic, is committed to providing end-to-end transportation. and control of the supply chain to its customers.
The firm’s all-cash offer, made via CEVA, amounts to 450 pence-per-share offer, reflecting a premium of 52% to Wincanton stock’s closing price of 297 pence on Thursday, or 11.7 times Wincanton’s underlying annual earnings before interest and taxes.
Wincanton said its board intends to unanimously ask its shareholders to vote in favour of CMA CGM’s offer, which would result in the British company being delisted from the stock exchange.
The offer values Wincanton’s value at 566. 9 million pounds ($718. 77 million) on a fully diluted basis, the corporations said. The value of Wincanton’s business, including debt, is £765 million.
“This is an opportunity to expand CEVA’s offering in the UK and gain complementary expertise in food and consumption,” the corporations said.
Wincanton shares jumped 47% in early trading on Friday and reached their point since July 2021.
Wincanton operates in the UK and Ireland in markets ranging from food and customer goods to fuel and defence, and competes with DHL and GXO.
The acquisition is being done by CEVA through a newly formed entity CEVA Logistics UK Rose Ltd.
CMA CGM’s monetary advisor for this transaction is investment bank Morgan Stanley. Wincanton contracted through HSBC and Deutsche Numis.
($1 = 0. 7887 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru, Gus Trompiz and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Savio D’Souza and Susan Fenton)