Nearly a year after opening talks and a few days after obtaining regulator approval, CMA CGM announced on Thursday that it has completed a €4.85bn ($5.25bn) acquisition of French peer Bollore Logistics.
The liner giant had already said in April last year that it was moving towards the biggest acquisition in its history, as part of a drive to develop a second logistics leg to stand on alongside its traditional maritime business.
According to the company, the strategy is already bearing fruit, with logistics representing a “solid pillar” enabling CMA CGM to “weather cyclical changes more efficiently”.
CMA CGM expects Bollore to help it become the world’s fifth-largest transport and logistics provider.
Bollore Logistics achieved €7.1bn in turnover in 2022, transporting 710,000 teu of ocean freight and 390,000 tons of air freight, and had a storage capacity of 900,000 square metres.
The acquisition boosts CMA CGM’s workforce by 14,000 employees.
“We will now be able to offer our customers a complete range of services and extend our expertise to new businesses,” CMA CGM chief executive Rodolphe Saade said.
European competition regulators approved the takeover last Friday — on condition that CMA CGM divest all of Bollore’s activities in a few Caribbean countries, along with some assets in mainland France.
The transfer of subsidiary Bollore Logistics Sweden to CMA CGM remains subject to the Swedish regulator approval.
CMA CGM’s profit declined sharply last year amid a freight rate slowdown after two extremely profitable years in 2021 and 2022.
Net annual income took an 85% dive in 2023 to $3.64bn from $24.88bn.
