Deutsche Bahn to buy US logistics firm Bax Global for 1.1 bln dlrs
Deutsche Bahn, the German state-owned rail operator, said Wednesday it planned to acquire buy US logistics firm Bax Global, a wholly-owned unit of Brink’s, for 1.1 billion dollars (940 million euros).
A corresponding agreement was signed by both parties in New York on Tuesday and the deal was expected to be finalised “in the next few wkees”, Deutsche Bahn said in a statement.
The German giant itself did not reveal the purchase price. But in a separate released on its own website, Brink’s put it at “approximately 1.1 billion dollars in cash”.
Deutsche Bahn chairman Hartmut Mehdorn said: “Bax fits perfectly with our strategy and is an ideal addition to our logistics subsidiary Schenker.”
The German company said the deal would make Deutsche Bahn the world’s number one transport and logistics group.
Bax Global, based in Irvine, California, posted operating profit of 56.2 million dollars last year on sales of 2.44 billion dollars. It employs a workforce of more than 12,000 and is active in 133 countries, with main regions of focus North America and Asia.
The acquisition would “decisively expand our position as an international logistics company in the growth markets of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in China and the US”, Bahn chief Mehdorn explained.
While Deutsche Bahn’s Schenker subsidiary focuses on transport on the ground, Bax Global is active in air freight and shipping.
With the US firm, Schenker hopes to narrow the gap with DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post which recently scored an important coup by buying British logistics firm Exel for 5.5 billion euros.
DHL also aims to be the world’s leading logistics firm.
Schenker, which Deutsche Bahn acquired in 2002, represents around a third of German rail’s overall sales and the lion’s shares of its profits.
The cost of acquiring Bax Global could push Deutsche Bahn back into the red after it only recently managed to turn in a profit.
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