Search Company:
The deal is sealed. CMA CGM is acquiring nearly 100 per cent of the shares of GEFCO, the European automotive logistics leader. This was announced by the logistics giant on Friday 8 April. The acquisition has been authorised by the European Commission, but is still waiting for the license of the European Commission’s competition authority.
CMA CGM said that the acquisition of GEFCO represents another step forward in its growth strategy, strengthening its position as a global player in the transport and logistics sector. GEFCO will also continue to operate within a secure regulatory framework and will benefit from the group’s leading technological and logistical capabilities to expand into its international markets.
Why needed
As for why “a safe regulatory framework” is emphasised, we have to start with GEFCO’s former shareholders. GEFCO is a French company and a European leader in contract logistics and a transport specialist in the automotive sector. The company was previously controlled by Russian State Railways (75%) and French-Italian automaker Stellantis (25%, which owns Peugeot, Fiat, Citroen, Chrysler and Opel).
As the EU has been expanding its list of sanctions on Russia, GEFCO began to realise that if it does not get rid of the holding of Rostec, the survival of GEFCO is at risk, and so is the global automotive logistics business of Stellantis, its largest customer and minority shareholder. So it signed a share repurchase agreement with Russian Railways, and turned to CMA CGM, which has a European background and strong qualifications. Read more
Source: RAILFREIGHT.COM
