SNCF may spend another 2 bln to 3 bln euros after Geodis acquisition – chairman
SNCF may spend another 2 billion to 3 billion euros on investments on top of the 600 million it is offering to pay for shares it does not already own in Geodis, Guillaume Pepy, chairman of the state-owned railway operator, told Le Figaro newspaper.
He plans further acquisitions, including an imminent one in Europe, and he is interested in port services to complete the company’s offering, Pepy said in an interview with the daily.
‘In a few days we will announce the acquisition of a continental European rail operator, which will open the door for us to new countries, notably Eastern Europe,’ he said.
The acquisition of Geodis, in which SNCF currently owns 42.37 percent, will make the transport of goods the group’s biggest division in terms of sales, Pepy said.
SNCF-Geodis will be among the world’s top five logistics groups, behind Deutsche Post AG unit DHL, Deutsche Bahn and Kuehne & Nagel International AG, the SNCF chairman said.
The Geodis deal will lift SNCF’s debt to equity ratio from 0.5 to 0.6, which is still only one-third of the level of Deutsche Bahn, and the imminent acquisition will not fundamentally alter those figures, he said.
‘That means we can still envisage profitable investments of 2 billion to 3 billion euros,’ Pepy said.
Shares in Geodis soared 30 percent today after Pepy unveiled that SNCF plans to offer 135 euros per share for the rest of the transport company.
SNCF may spend another 2 billion to 3 billion euros on investments on top of the 600 million it is offering to pay for shares it does not already own in Geodis, Guillaume Pepy, chairman of the state-owned railway operator, told Le Figaro newspaper.
He plans further acquisitions, including an imminent one in Europe, and he is interested in port services to complete the company’s offering, Pepy said in an interview with the daily.
‘In a few days we will announce the acquisition of a continental European rail operator, which will open the door for us to new countries, notably Eastern Europe,’ he said.
The acquisition of Geodis, in which SNCF currently owns 42.37 percent, will make the transport of goods the group’s biggest division in terms of sales, Pepy said.
SNCF-Geodis will be among the world’s top five logistics groups, behind Deutsche Post AG unit DHL, Deutsche Bahn and Kuehne & Nagel International AG, the SNCF chairman said.
The Geodis deal will lift SNCF’s debt to equity ratio from 0.5 to 0.6, which is still only one-third of the level of Deutsche Bahn, and the imminent acquisition will not fundamentally alter those figures, he said.
‘That means we can still envisage profitable investments of 2 billion to 3 billion euros,’ Pepy said.
Shares in Geodis soared 30 percent today after Pepy unveiled that SNCF plans to offer 135 euros per share for the rest of the transport company.
