KLM sells cargo unit
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today closed on the sale of its global freight handling subsidiary to Germany’s D. Logistics, a logistics services company, as part of its plan to focus on core activities.
The airline didn’t disclose the sale price of the unit, called Cargo Service Center, which has a staff of around 3,000 and handles more than 1.5 million tons of cargo annually at 65 airport stations in 17 countries.
D. Logistics said it will integrate CSC into its 10-year-old Airport Cargo unit, which handles around 500,000 tons of freight annually, taking the total yearly volume of the enlarged operation to over 2 million tons.
Under the deal, CSC will honor its current service contract with KLM Cargo, its biggest customer.
D. Logistics said the acquisition will advance CSC’s bid to become the first one-stop, full-service air-cargo logistics provider.
The CSC transaction is the latest in a series of acquisitions by D. Logistics that have made it Europe’s largest provider of integrated logistics services. Its clients include Volkswagen, Siemens and Gillette. After focusing on Europe, D. Logistics moved into the U.S. market last July, acquiring 85% of two privately held firms, Franks Industries Group of Ohio and J&J Packaging Co. of Indiana, with combined revenue of $72 million.
