French transport leader Geodis is expanding its European trucking activities with the acquisitionof two businesses from rival Giraud for an undisclosed sum. But it has ruled out an acquisition of
rival parcels operator Sernam.Geodis, which now forms the core of SNCF’s freight logistics business, has taken over Giraud’s “Central and Eastern Europe” freight transport division, with annual revenues of €52.4 million,108 staff at 14 locations in nine countries, and 278 trucks.
The business will be integrated into Geodis Calberson, its groupage and express parcelsoperation. Calberson offers European freight distribution through its “Eurodirect” service andtransportation of parcel and pallets through its “Eurofirst” service and the NetExpress Europealliance.
“With this latest acquisition, we are extending our transportation offer for clients whoseproduction sites are increasingly moving towards countries in Central and Eastern Europe,” saidJean-Louis Demeulenaere, Geodis deputy CEO. The second acquired business is Giraud’s steeltransportation business with annual revenues of €72 million, about half of which is generated fromcontracts with Arcelor-Mittal.
But in a statement, Geodis noted: “Sernam has not been discussed”. Giraud is controlled byprivate equity company Butler Capital Partners, which also is the major shareholder in Sernam.Geodis and Sernam both have significant domestic parcels distribution businesses in France. Sernamrecently signed an international cooperation deal with Germany’s Rhenus Freight Logistics.
Last December, Geodis acquired IBM’s logistics operations as part of a multi-year outsourcingdeal, taking control of about €1 billion of logistics spending. It has also bought TNT FreightManagement and German freight forwarder Rohde & Liesenfeld over the last two years.
In 2007, Geodis had annual revenues of some €4.8 billion, including revenues of €1.75 billionfrom Geodis Calberson. In France, Calberson and the separate France Express business made anoperating profit of €61 million on combined revenues of €1.4 billion.
