Trans-o-flex, the loss-making German healthcare logistics company and joint owner of the Eurodis network, has been sold by Austrian Post to its former owners after a strategic review.
Austrian Post announced this morning it had reached an agreement with an unnamed “German strategic investor who will continue the consolidation of trans-o-flex and its focus on its core business”. The buyers are the company’s former owners, Peter Amberger, owner of pharma logistics company Loxxess AG, and his long-standing business partner Christoph Schoeller.
“On the basis of this agreement we have made a decision which offers trans-o-flex a clear path for its future development,” said Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post. The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, is expected to take place in the coming weeks subject to the approval of the German Competition Authority.
The new owners, Amberger Familien GbR and Schoeller Holding, said separately that they had acquired equal shares in trans-o-flex. They previously owned the company from 1995 to 1998 when it was sold to Deutsche Post.
Amberger expects the takeover to be approved by German competition authorities within 3-4 weeks. “Trans-o-flex’s share of the German parcels market is probably less than 5%, so we don’t see any obstacles here,” he said.
Austrian Post acquired trans-o-flex in 2007/08 in two stages for a total of €79 million as part of its regional expansion of its parcel and logistics activities. However, the company only had a book value of €49.4 million early last year following significant writedowns, including €38.9 million in 2014 and €27 million in 2013.
Trans-o-flex, with annual revenues of about €500 million, focuses on providing logistics and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and consumer electronics sectors in Germany through its business units covering rapid deliveries, temperature-controlled transportation and logistics services. It is the German partner in the Eurodis network which it founded in the 1990s.
But the company has been through turbulent times in recent years amid tough trading conditions. There have been several changes of management as Austrian Post tried to achieve a financial turnaround. Early last year a strategic review was launched, including a search for a potential investor. In February, Frank Iden, former head of Hermes Germany, took over as CEO.
Amberger declared: “Trans-o-flex is a great company whose particular strength lies in services for the pharma industry. We see excellent market opportunities in this sector. Therefore we will focus even more strongly on this area.”
Looking ahead, he said that trans-o-flex would cooperate closely in future with Loxxess, which provides specialist contract logistics services for the pharma sector and other industries, but stressed there are no plans to merge the two companies.
Schoeller added: “The market is demonstrating increasing needs in the niches where the company has its strengths. The key to improving profitability lies in this focus.”
