On 08 May 2023, the Bolloré Group received from the CMA CGM Group a put option to acquire 100% of Bolloré Logistics for an enterprise value of €5bn.
This undertaking is the result of exclusive negotiations announced on 18 April 2023 between the Bolloré Group and the CMA CGM Group.
The Bolloré Group has accepted this put option strictly as an offer. The information and consultation procedures with the relevant staff representative bodies of the Bolloré Group pertaining to this transaction has been initiated. The decision as to whether or not to exercise this put option will be taken at the end of these procedures. Final completion of the transaction remains subject, first, to the examination by employee representation, and then to customary regulatory approvals.
If the acquisition is finalized, it would significantly strengthen the CMA CGM Group’s logistics business and make a top five player in global logistics.
The combined operations of the CMA CGM Group’s logistics activities and Bolloré Logistics would have combined revenues of approximately USD24bn (based on 2022 results). Following the acquisitions of Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services and Colis Privé, then of GEFCO, which boosted CEVA’s capabilities in eCommerce contract logistics and automotive logistics respectively, the acquisition of Bolloré Logistics would further strengthen the sea and air freight activities of the Group’s logistics division. The combined entity would have an annual shipping volume equivalent to more than 2m TEUs of sea freight and 0.8m tons of air freight.
The CMA CGM Group already operates in more than 160 countries, with 155,000 employees. This deal would add more than 14,000 new employees operating out of 350 offices in 63 different countries.
The Group’s warehouse space would increase by more than 900,000 sq m at 115 different warehouses, in addition to the 10.3m sq m already managed by CEVA at its 900 warehouses around the world. The acquisition would also open up access to major logistics hubs, especially in France and Asia.
With the addition of Bolloré Logistics, the CMA CGM Group and its subsidiary, CEVA Logistics, would gain further expertise in high-value sectors, both in sea and air freight management and in contract logistics. Bolloré Logistics is currently a world leader in transport and logistics solutions for the luxury goods, fragrances and cosmetics, healthcare, aerospace and defense sectors.
The experts set to join the CMA CGM Group have built up a roster of top-tier customers, including some of the top names in French industry and other leading multinationals, which CEVA Logistics would strive to continue serving.
For the CMA CGM Group, this acquisition would represent a major step forward in its development of a full range of solutions supporting customers’ supply chains through handling end-to-end transport and logistics.
The deal would be the largest since the CMA CGM Group was founded in 1978 and would represent a major strategic milestone in the Group’s development of its logistics activities, which the Group has been building since 2019, alongside the original CMA CGM shipping business.
As a result of adjustments agreed between the parties primarily relating to the valuation of minority interests and to IFRS16 debt, the purchase price would amount to €4.650bn, prior to calculating debt and cash on the completion date.
Source: CMA CGM Group, Bolloré Group
