Stobart Group has made its expected formal offer for car-transporter firm Autologic, which values the company at £12.4m.
The deal would in effect see Stobart become the largest car-transporter haulier in the UK.
Both parties have been in talks since Thursday 24 May and Stobart has made the offer in cash through Stobart Holdings Limited.
Autologic is recommending the deal, which is the equivalent of 20p per share, to its shareholders.
Avril Palmer-Baunack, chief executive of Autologic, says: “The combination of Stobart and Autologic will further strengthen Autologic's market-leading position in the automotive marketplace.
"It will enable us to provide new, flexible and innovative solutions to our customer base, whilst also giving us the opportunity to improve competitiveness as a result of being part of a bigger business."
In a statement to the City the Stobart directors say that the ability of Autologic to use Stobart Rail infrastructure would reduce the level of empty running endemic to the car transporter sector.
In addition, Autologic would be able to benefit from the Stobart Group's storage sites, both in terms of car storage and also overnight truck parking.
There are also opportunities for Autologic to expand further into the European market, says Stobart.
Stobart chief executive Andrew Tinkler adds: “Autologic is an excellent fit with our group strategy to expand into complementary service offerings and it will facilitate our entry into the auto-logistics market in a leading position.
“We expect to be able to drive substantial synergies and efficiencies from improved fleet utilisation, vehicle buying and maintenance, which will benefit our customers and drive value for our shareholders.”
