German logistics group Dachser today announced it will buy Spanish freight and parcels operatorAzkar, its long-standing partner, for an undisclosed sum.
Dachser already held a 10% stake in the family-owned company and will acquire the remainingshares with effect from January 15, 2013. The deal is subject to the approval of the relevantanti-trust authorities.
Although Azkar generates most of its €367 million revenues from freight forwarding, roadtransport and logistics services, it is also a significant player in the Spanish parcels marketwhere it competes with the likes of Seur and MRW as well as multinationals such as DHL Express andTNT Express.
In Spain and Portugal, Azkar offers road-based express distribution of parcels and palletswithin 24-48 hours, time-definite deliveries on a contractual basis, in-night deliveries to citycentres, delivery of pharmaceutical products within 24 hours to hospitals and other businessaddresses and other specialist services. It also offers parcel deliveries, palletized groupagetransport and LTL deliveries to European destinations as well as international air and sea freightforwarding. The company, which describes itself as the leader in the Spanish groupage segment,employs more than 3,000 staff at 91 branches, has a fleet of 2,650 vehicles and logisticsfacilities covering more than 500,000 sqm.
Dachser stressed the acquisition aimed at securing the future growth of Azkar which it said“operates at a profit despite the dire state of the Spanish economy”. In future, the Spanish firmwould also benefit from the German group’s annual investment of “hundreds of millions of euros inthe expansion and modernisation of its logistics network”.
Bernhard Simon, Dachser CEO, stressed the similarities between the two family-owned companies.“The historical similarities in the evolution of both companies are remarkable. Our corporatebusiness models have seen very similar developments in key areas,” he commented. “Dachser’s successlies in its decentralised organisation and Azkar will continue to operate in this tradition.”
Azkar’s major shareholder, Luis Fernández Somoza, said the sale to Dachser represented the idealsolution to the upcoming question of succession. “Azkar will continue to write its future historyas part of another family enterprise, which stands equally for continuity and is guided by valuesthat benefit both customers and staff,” he stated. Dachser had held frequent negotiations with himafter acquiring a 10% stake in the company in 2008.
Following the acquisition the company will continue to be headed by managing director JoséAntonio Orozco and the current management team, and will retain its established brand for the timebeing. Dachser’s Portuguese subsidiary will be merged into Azkar.
Orozco said: “We are the number one in Spain. With Dachser behind us, we will be able to secureour future and have access to a dynamically evolving, global logistics network.” He stressed thatDachser and Azkar had successfully cooperated closely since 2007.
The acquisition of Azkar will be the second major takeover for Dachser after buying Frenchtransport firm Graveleau in 1999 and later re-branding it following a successful integration. In2011, Dachser, which does not disclose profit figures, increased group revenue by 13% to €4.3billion. Over the next five years the company intends to invest around €1.3 billion, above all inits European overland transport network.
