The Danish ferry and logistics operator pays GBP 138m to acquire logistics firm headquartered in Northern Ireland.
Danish shipping group DFDS has expanded its UK business through a large-scale acquisition of logistics company McBurney Transport Group for GBP 138m on a debt-free basis.
The company specializes in storing and transporting perishable reefer goods between the UK and Ireland – on roads and at sea.
“The acquisition of McBurney Transport Group greatly enhances the scope of our customer offerings on the island of Ireland and in the UK, particularly towards the resilient food sector. It also brings considerable scale to our existing operations in the region”, says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS, in a stock exchange announcement.
McBurney is headquartered in Northern Ireland with approx. 800 employees and 400 trucks across eight divisions in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Ireland.
Revenue totaled DKK 1bn (USD 143m) in 2021 and is expected to increase to DKK 1.3bn in 2022. Operating result (EBITDA) landed at DKK 160m.
To become final, competition authorities will have to approve the deal.
After this, the acquisition is expected to be ”ROIC accretive vs DFDS’ 8-percent minimum after tax return target and to be accretive to earnings per share (EPS),” as phrased by DFDS in the announcement.
The takeover comes at a difficult time for the global economy.
According to Carlsen, however, DFDS is used to handle crisis conditions following Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war, enabling the company to adjust rapidly to changing circumstances, he told WPO in November 2022.
He also said that DFDS is prepared to spend some of the money made during the pandemic.
”We are always looking for acquisitions, and that is also the case now,” Carlsen stated at the time.
English edit: Kristoffer Grønbæk
