Australia’s Toll Group today announced it has agreed to acquire 40% of Tianjin Anda Logistics,one of the largest third party logistics service providers in China’s rapidly expanding automotive
market, and plans to take a majority stake over the next few years.“The Chinese automotive market is the largest in the world and offers immense opportunities forToll to leverage our industry leading automotive capabilities,” said Toll Group managing directorPaul Little. “The market grew 32% in 2010 to record sales of 18.6 million vehicles compared to 11.8million in the US. In the future, motor vehicle sales will be supported by strong economic growth,the current low rate of car ownership and government investment in road infrastructure.”
“Importantly for Toll Group, manufacturers in China are increasingly demanding a more efficientand effective supply chain. Our joint venture with Tianjin Anda allows us to partner with a leadinglocal company to provide those services in a proven and cost effective manner,” he added.
Tianjin Anda is one of China’s largest third party operators and is uniquely placed to takeadvantage of further outsourcing in the years to come, Toll Group said. In 2010, the Chinesecompany generated revenue of over RMB 400 million (€43 million).
“Tianjin Anda provides finished vehicle transport, storage and processing services for leadingbrands such as FAW, Toyota, BMW, Peugeot-Citroen and Chery. It is based in the city of Tianjin, amajor manufacturing centre and China’s largest import terminal, which is close to Beijing and wellconnected to the main national highways,” Little explained.
Toll said it will initially acquire 40% of the privately owned business with the option ofmoving to a majority stake over the next two years and to increase that further over five years.The acquisition, which will add to group profits this year, remains subject to Chinese regulatoryapprovals which are anticipated to take three to six months.
