Deutsche Post/Bayerische Landesbank’s Transoflex sold to Odewald & Cie
Odewald & Cie will purchase Deutsche Post World Net AG and Bayerische Landesbank’s stakes in Transoflex for roughly 200 mln eur, the Financial Times Deutschland reported citing industry sources.
Deutsche Post holds 24.8 pct of the freight company and Bayerische Landesbank owns 75.2 pct.
Deutsche Post wants to sell its holding because cartel authorities blocked it from acquiring all of Transoflex.
All three parties declined to comment on the matter FTD said.
Transoflex had 2004 sales of 431 mln eur.
Deutsche Post, BayernLB sell Transoflex to Odewald for undisclosed sum
AFX UK ProFeed 03-17-2005
BONN (AFX) – Deutsche Post World Net AG said it and state-bank BayernLB have
sold their respective stakes in Transoflex to financial investor Odewald &
Compagnie.
No financial details were disclosed.
It said Odewald had acquired Deutsche Post’s 75.2 pct stake and the 24.8
pct stake held by BayernLB unit BayernFinanz.
mog/cmr
Odewald buys orphaned company
TheDeal.com 03-18-2005
By by Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin
Berlin buyout shop Odewald & Compagnie on Thursday, March 17, agreed to buy Transoflex Schnell-lieferdienst GmbH for €200 million ($268 million) after competition authorities prevented the pharmaceutical logistics specialist’s sale to Germany’s state-run post office.
Bonn-based Deutsche Post AG said it would sell its 24.8% Transoflex stake along with Bayerische Landesbank, which is parting with its 75.2% holding.
The German buyout shop pays $267 million for pharmaceutical logistics specialist Transoflex Schnell-lieferdenst.
No price was released in the deal, though widespread press reports estimated €200 million.
Odewald beat out Advent International and German private equity group Deutsche Beteiligungs AG in the auction for Transoflex, Die Welt reported.
The sale ends an eight-year saga that began in 1997 with Deutsche Post’s purchase of the minority stake. BayernLB picked up the majority holding in 2000 with an aim to sell it to Deutsche Post. But the country’s competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt, objected when Deutsche Post picked up a handful of regional Transoflex divisions and telegraphed its intent for a complete takeover.
Germany’s state-run post office appealed but the country’s highest court upheld the decision in December. At the time, the court said Post’s minority holding had already helped it improve its dominance in the business-to-business delivery sector.
“Up until this point Deutsche Post had already played a key role in the restructuring of the now profitable [Transoflex],” the company said.
Deutsche Post and Bayerische Landesbank were advised by Metzler Corporate Finance but would not release legal advisers. Odewald declined to release advisers.
Weinheim, Germany-based Transoflex saw revenue grow 9% last year to €431 million as the number of shipments rose 3%. The company employs 730.
Odewald, founded in 1998 by a former executive of German retail chain Kaufhof and Swiss shipping group Kühne + Nagel International AG, specializes in investing in smaller companies with sales of between €100 million and €500 million. The buyout shop, whose full name is Odewald & Compagnie Gesellschaft für Beteiligungen mbH, has raised more than €500 million.
DPWN press release 17 Mch
Sale of trans-o-flex successfully completed
BayernFinanz and Deutsche Post World Net have sold their holdings in the Weinheim/Germany-based company trans-o-flex, 75.2% and 24.8% respectively, to the financial investment company Odewald & Compagnie in Berlin. Odewald & Compagnie is one of Germany’s largest independent equity companies with approximately 500 million euro under management. Since its successful restructuring trans-o-flex is now one of Europe’s leading providers of combined freight services. This is also reflected in the sale’s positive economic turnout. Deutsche Post World Net will maintain its historically good rel
