Autologic acquires 40% of CAT in £250m deal
Autologic set for £250m Renault deal
By Charles Batchelor in London
Published: January 24 2001 18:44GMT | Last Updated: January 25 2001 02:19GMT
Autologic Holdings, the car distribution company, is poised to acquire a controlling stake in Renault’s transport and logistics business, as part of a strategy designed to create an international network.
The company is in advanced discussions with Renault, the French carmaker, and two partners in the distribution and shipping industry to acquire Compagnie d’Affretement et de Transport (Cat).
The total value of the acquisition is thought to be between £250m and £300m. This would make it Autologic’s largest deal since it went public and would require additional finance. The company did not rule out the possibility of a rights issue to fund the purchase.
Autologic would acquire a 40 per cent holding in Cat with TNT Post Group, the Dutch parcels and distribution company, and Wallenius Lines, a Swedish shipping line specialising in transporting cars, taking 20 per cent each. Renault would retain a 20 per cent stake.
Autologic, which came to the stock market in December 1997, already has a small operation in Benelux and France, but this deal would give it a strong presence throughout the Continent and in South America.
Cat handles 2.3m new cars a year for manufacturers and car rental companies while it also moves 1.5m tonnes of general freight by land, sea and air.
It has turnover of about £550m a year.
Autologic claims UK market leadership in the business of cleaning and preparing cars for sale, installing optional items including radios and sunroofs and transporting cars to dealerships.
The acquisition of Cat would add 76 car-handling centres in Europe, including 26 storage sites, and 80 general freight depots. Cat moves cars for companies including DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Volvo and Avis.
Autologic took over Ford’s UK car-handling business 18 months ago through a 50:50 joint venture established with Allied Holdings, a US car distributor. In the UK Autologic also handles cars for BMW, Seat, Toyota and Jaguar.
Autologic believes its expansion throughout Europe and beyond will meet the demand from the car manufacturers to deal with a smaller number of suppliers.
The distribution industry has made attempts to boost its margins over the past decade by providing part-assembly, packaging and final preparation of a wide range of products such as cars, clothing and computers.
Autologic made a pre-tax profit of £6.9m ($10m) in the six months ended June 30 2000, up from £6.3m previously. Turnover rose to £107.9m (£85.3m). The company warned in August that spending on information technology would hold back margins in the short term but said it was looking at overseas acquisitions.
Its shares were unchanged at 622½p on Wednesday.
