D Logistics sells handler to ease debt worries

Debt-laden German logistics group D Logistics last week sold its air cargo handling arm CSC to rival handler Swissport.
The deal, including transfer of property at Heathrow, is understood to be worth slightly more than €100m.

Swissport, the former Swissair services company bought this year by British investment group Candover, said the acquisition would double its cargo throughput to 2m tonnes, making it the “biggest provider of the full range of airport ground services”.

Ludwig Bertsch, executive VP for corporate services, said: “Our strategy is to build a network with a range of services so we can approach the large international carriers and offer them a full regional arrrangement, rather than for individual countries. We see carriers increasingly doing this. Cargo was the missing piece in that strategy.” D Logistics, which bought CSC from KLM at the end of 2000, said the sale would reduce its levels of debt and interest payments, restoring it to profit.

D Logistics spokeswoman Anja Marquardt said CSC and its remaining logistics operations were profitable last year, but the company could not afford to invest in developing it.