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The acquisition aims to accelerate DHL’s geographical expansion in ocean freight
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Hillebrand will be combined with DHL’s Global Forwarding, Freight division to strengthen the latter’s position in the ocean freight forwarding market
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DPDHL intends to fund the $1.8-billion acquisition in cash
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The company said it will benefit from Hillebrand’s know-how and customer experience in bulk liquids and other adjacent special care commodities
Supply chain management company Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) has agreed to acquire J.F. Hillebrand Group AG for around EUR1.5 billion (US$1.8 billion), boosting its position in the ocean freight forwarding market.
Hillebrand is a German-based global service provider specialized in ocean freight forwarding, transport and logistics of beverages, non-hazardous bulk liquids and other products that require special care. It generated revenue of around EUR1.4 billion in the last 12 months, will ship 500,000 TEUs in 2021, and has more than 2,700 employees worldwide.
The move comes as shortages of freight capacity in both ocean and air have jacked up shipping costs globally, with the pandemic also extending port waiting times due to labor shortages and traffic disruptions.
DPDHL in a release said it intends to fund the acquisition in cash.
Hillebrand will be combined with DHL’s Global Forwarding, Freight division to strengthen DPDHL’s position in the ocean freight forwarding market, the company said in a release.
“With the growing maturity of our freight forwarding business, this bolt-on acquisition of Hillebrand is highly complementary to our existing portfolio. In line with our Group Strategy, we strengthen our core logistics business and deliver profitable long-term growth,” said DPDHL group CEO Frank Appel.
The company said it will benefit from Hillebrand’s know-how and customer experience in bulk liquids and other adjacent special care commodities to leverage the positive underlying growth pattern of these products.
Hillebrand also offers a wide range of value-added services including customer facing tools with best-in-class IT systems, as well as end-to-end service offers in the fast-growing bulk liquids segments.
In turn, Hillebrand will benefit from DHL Global Forwarding, Freight’s large scale network in over 190 countries and global forwarding expertise in air, ocean and road freight.
For DHL, the deal aims to include additional services within the comprehensive range of ocean freight products it already offers its customers globally.
“The acquisition of Hillebrand is a unique opportunity for Deutsche Post DHL Group to add high quality ocean freight services with strong margin characteristics and high cash flow generation. We expect this transaction to be earnings and cash flow accretive from day one,” said Melanie Kreis, CFO of DPDHL group.
The transaction is subject to merger control clearance in certain jurisdictions, including the EU and the US. Such clearances are expected in the coming months.
