Archive for the 'Acquisition' Category

Grand Power Logistics saw revenue increase by 68.4% to $99.6 million compared to the same period in 2006. Gross profit for the year increased by 72% to $6.9 million.

Costs related to the Company’s aggressive expansion, particularly in China resulted in a net loss of $139,623 but to that should be added adjustments to employee’s compensation so that direction was solidly in the right direction.

Ricky Chiu, President and CEO of Grand Power, said, ‘Successfully implementing our expansion plans did challenge our margins during the year, but we believe our efforts will be rewarded with continued strong revenue growth and increased profits as we benefit from economies of scale and our entry in higher margin segments of the logistics value chain.’

Cargo shipments showed the strongest growth in the European markets, growing by 162% to 7,973 tonnes in 2007. Strong gains were also reported in the US markets with 9,468 tonnes shipped, an increase of 43.9%.
Grand Power’s expansion into China in 2007 also resulted in significant growth as air cargo increased by 926% to 4,388 tonnes.

To help facilitate further expansion and grow market share, Grand Power has established Shanghai as the China headquarters.
Source: MarketWire

Barely four months after acquiring one Chinese logistics company the Indian companuu Direct Logistics India, which is based in Mumbai, is looking to make another purchase. Late last year it bought China-based Shenzhen Dida Logistics for an undisclosed amount. This was the first ever acquisition by an Indian company in the Chinese freight forwarding industry.

Direct Logistics’ financial adviser, Ambit Corporate Finance, is now in talks with a few international and domestic private equity firms arranging funds for the company’s new acquisition.

Sunil Devrani, chief executive and managing director of Direct Logistics, said, ‘We are looking at buying out a supply chain management company in China which will help us in transforming to a complete logistics solution company instead of just freight forwarding firm.’

He intelligently declined to disclose the target company and the prospective investors in Direct Logistics. Sunil Devrani said the fund-raising and acquisition would be concluded in the next three months.
Source: LiveMint.com

Agility, the Middle East’s largest logistics company, is thinking about acquisitions in China.

Managing Director of the Kuwait-based logistics giant, Tarek Sultan al-Essa, seen in our illustration, said in an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ‘We’re very bullish on China because it’s critical to our customers to have a strong China presence.’

Agility is part of a group led by DynCorp International Inc. that won a $50 billion contract to provide cargo shipping, storage and fuel distribution services to the U.S. Army.

In China it is intended that acquisitions this year will help boost Agility’s annual sales in China to $1 billion in two years from about $300 million now.

The company operates in 36 Chinese cities and wants to expand geographically, he said, without specifying the names or size of any possible targets.

At the same time Agility has signed a deal with Aker Kvaerner, Norway’s leading engineering, procurement and construction firm to basically handle all of its logistics.

Agility’s sales rose to about $6 billion in 2007 from $5 billion a year earlier and emerging-markets expansion will help boost sales to more than $7 billion in 2008.
Source: AHN

YRC Worldwide is a U.S.-based Fortune 500 providing transportation services for industrial, commercial and retail products, and has recently strengthened its presence in China:

- It is in the process of acquiring Shanghai Jiayu Logistics, a major provider of road transport services

- It has appointed two new members to its Board of Directors, one (Michael Byrnes pictured on the right) has extensive China experience

Michael Byrnes - has worked in China for over two decades. Previously President of Tyco International China, VP China Operations for Rockwell Automation, senior advisor for a government affairs consulting firm and served as U.S. Defense Attache at U.S Embassy in Beijing.
Mark Schulz - spent 32 years at Ford Motor Co where he was Executive Vice President and President of International Operations.

Source: PR YRC Worldwide 

Sinotrans, China’s largest transport company, will integrate dozens of its smaller subsidiaries into two listed firms by 2010 as it prepares for an IPO (initial public offering) in Hong Kong later this month.

The IPO could be worth up to US$1.69 billion.

Sinotrans vice-president Zhang Jianwei said the smaller companies would be merged into Sinotrans Shipping and its existing Hong Kong-listed company, Sinotrans.

Zhang Jianwei said at the same time Sinotrans Shipping would become the group’s bulk shipping flagship. This consolidation will help boost the total turnover of the Sinotrans Group to a forecast $10 billion by 2010.

Sinotrans Shipping has priced its offer at 12 to 14 times the firm’s 2008 earning forecast of $300 million. Trading in the shares will start on November 23 and seven cornerstone investors have already subscribed for a total of $175 million worth of shares and will very likely make a great deal of money.

These include Li Ka-shing, one of Asia’s richest men and chairman of Hutchison Whampao, which controls leading port operator Hutchison Port Holdings.

Other key investors are three Chinese shipping and port giants — China Cosco Group, China Shipping Group and China Merchants Group — together with Ping An Insurance, Lee Shau-kee, chairman of Henderson Land Development, and hedge fund Citadel Investment Group.

Sinotrans Shipping, which was founded in Hong Kong in February 2003, has 26 bulk carriers, three single-hulled very large crude carriers and five small container vessels in its fleet.

The firm said proceeds from the IPO will be used to expand its fleet and acquire shipping companies and repay bank loans.
Source: CargoNews Asia

China-India two way trade is set to reach $20 billion by 2008. Which is probably why Mumbai-based Direct Logistics India, a company that facilitates exports and imports by sea and air, has acquired a Chinese logistics company, Shenzhen Dida Logistics.

This is the first-ever acquisition by an Indian company in the Chinese freight forwarding industry.

Direct Logistics, which is in the process of setting up its own office in China, is currently into warehouse-to-warehouse international transportation and marine insurance, apart from cargo in and out from the ­country.

Mark Fernandes, chairman of Shipping and Aviation committee of Indian Merchants’ Chamber and former president of Bombay Customs House Agents’ Association said, ‘The reverse trend of Indian companies acquiring international companies has started, though it was overdue. Indian logistics companies need to strengthen their global presence for effective network of cargo transportation. Acquisitions will add value to Indian companies.’

The two-way trade, China-India, which was $18.7 billion in 2005 is growing at an average annual rate of 32%.

New City Corporation has announced its acquisition of a logistics facility in Shanghai Pudong’s Waigaoqiao Bonded Logistics Park, which marks the company’s first investment in China. New City is a real estate merchant banking and investment management firm headquartered in Tokyo.

The site it will acquire is the ‘Waigaoqiao Logistics Centre Phase II’, a two-storey warehouse completed in June 2006, which occupies more than 250,000 square meters and is composed of 28 independent units. New City will hold 27 of these and the remaining unit is already owned by the State Grid.

‘Along with the country’s growing foreign trade, China’s logistics industry has attracted considerable attention, including from New City itself,’ commented the firm’s Chairman and CEO, Frank Orrell.

Chris O’Brien, executive vice president of New City Corporation, said aside from ‘the prime location and most advanced infrastructure’ of the logistics park, ‘the facility also provides tenants with a number of financial advantages.’

The acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to capitalize on logistics opportunities in the China market and the Asia region.
Source: New City Corporation PR