Bolloré Logistics, an entity bringing together the transport and logistics activities of the Bolloré group, said on Monday May 8 that it had accepted the promise to purchase from the French shipowner CMA CGM (Compagnie maritime d'affrètement-Compagnie générale maritime), on the basis of with an enterprise value of 5 billion euros. According to Bolloré, "the sale price would be 4.65 billion euros before calculation of debt and cash at the date of completion". The two companies entered into exclusive negotiations on April 18, before the shipowner submitted this promise to purchase 100% of Bolloré Logistics' activities.
"The Bolloré Group has accepted this promise as an offer," said the company, which wants to refocus on the media, in a press release. “The procedures for informing and consulting the staff representative bodies (…) will now be initiated. The decision on the exercise of this promise will take place at the end of these procedures, ”adds the group.
This acquisition, "if it were to be carried out, would considerably strengthen the logistics activity of the CMA CGM group and would place its subsidiary Ceva Logistics among the top five companies in the world in the transport and logistics sector", with nearly 24 billion in revenue (22 billion euros), CMA CGM said in a separate statement.
Bolloré refocuses on the media
CMA CGM had explained on April 18 that this acquisition project was part of the group's strategy based on "shipping and logistics, and which aims to offer and develop complete solutions to support the supply chains of his clients ".
Long in the red, CMA CGM took full advantage of the overheating of maritime transport created by the crisis linked to Covid-19, with a record net profit, at more than 23 billion euros, in 2022, surpassing all the groups in the CAC 40. The company led by Rodolphe Saadé has, since 2019, multiplied acquisitions, purchases of shares of French and foreign flagships and partnerships: this ranges from Ceva Logistics to Air France-KLM via Eutelsat.
Bolloré, for its part, is refocusing on the media, with the giant Vivendi (owner of Canal, Havas and Editis), now majority at Lagardère. Its transport and logistics activities represented in 2022 a turnover of 7.1 billion euros, in around 100 countries; 13,500 employees carried them out.
