The sale of Kuehne+Nagel Group’s contract logistics portfolio to XPO Logistics has been sealed after being unconditionally approved by the British Competition and Markets Authority.
The deal sees XPO acquire Kuehne+Nagel’s drinks logistics, food services and retail and technology businesses which generated a turnover of approximately £617m in 2019 and employed 7,500 staff. The parties did not disclose the value of the deal.
XPO said the transaction expands its UK and Ireland operations to 248 locations and approximately 26,000 employees and brings on board a range of logistics services, including inbound and outbound distribution, reverse logistics management and inventory management.
Malcolm Wilson, XPO Logistics chief executive officer for Europe, said, “We’re pleased to complete the Kuehne+Nagel acquisition and welcome these prestigious new customers and talented colleagues to XPO.
“We look forward to the new opportunities that have been created by the combined resources of our larger organisation.”
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The sale was announced in March last year, following a major review of Kuehne+Nagel’s contract logistics business and was completed this week.
Kuehne+Nagel said the deal will allow it to focus on the e-commerce and pharmaceutical sectors.
Announcing the closure of the deal, Dr. Joerg Wolle, chairman of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, said: "We initiated the strategic review of our contract logistics activities in the board of directors in early 2019 and informed our business partners and the public accordingly.
“With the divestment of parts of our contract logistics business in the UK, the focused, comprehensive restructuring process was successfully completed.
“The business unit is now well positioned to concentrate on scalable solutions worldwide, particularly in the e-commerce and pharmaceutical sectors."
The transaction is part of a wider global restructuring which has seen Kuehne+Nagel International sell its contract logistics activities in Argentina, the chilled FMCG portfolio in France and a portfolio of real estate assets.