Scan Global Logistics needs to grow further prior to an initial public offering, says top management in an interview, which also touches upon the upcoming change of ownership.
Logistics firms are currently thriving due to the freight market challenges caused by the Covid-19 crisis and – to a certain degree – the Ukraine war.
This is also the case for Denmark-based Scan Global Logistics, which has grown massively during the recent year, in part due to a number of acquisitions. Last year alone, revenue grew by 88% to roughly USD 2.3bn, and the adjusted EBITDA result was more than doubled to USD 112m.
Previously, it has been reported that the company aims to be publicly listed on the stock exchange, and in an interview with WPO’s sister media, MobilityWatch, the top management says that the plan is to do so within the next 3-5 years. But first, the right amount of ”sturdiness” has to be built up.
”I think it’s wise for us to get a bit bigger and stronger so that we have the required sturdiness for when we enter the stock exchange,” says CEO Allan Melgaard, who is flanked by COO Mads Drejer and CFO Claes Brønsgaard Pedersen.
I have now been part of this since 1992, and we are gonna finish this task
ALLAN MELGAARD, CEO, SCAN GLOBAL LOGISTICS
In a new strategy, the company aims for a revenue of USD 5bn leading up to 2027 – more than a doubling compared to 2021’s record-high level.
The growth is primarily supposed to take place organically, but as the top management recently stated, new acquisitions are part of the strategy as well, and these will be way bigger than before, meaning companies with a revenue of up to USD 1bn.
The strategy, which is according to the management still in the vision stage, comes after it became known that Scan Global’s main owner, the US private equity firm AEA Investors, had hired British bank Barclays to plan a sales process of the firm’s ownership share.
The information was reported by media Insidebusiness, according to which AEA Investors aims for a price above DKK 10bn (USD 1.41bn) for Scan Global.
This would be a solid reward for AEA Investors, which bought the company in 2016 from private equity firm BWB Partners at a price of – according to several media – DKK 1.1bn on a debt-free basis.
Melgaard – who is co-owner of the company together with the rest of the top management and a two-digit number of high-ranking employees – doesn’t wish to comment on the possible ownership change, but says:
”We have an owner, which we have been very pleased with, and the journey together has been fantastic.”
”But one could easily imagine a new financial partner coming in together with the management, and that the company with a new financial sponsor could be listed within 3-5 years. That is the ambition,” states the CEO, adding that a change in ownership is likely to happen within the next 12-18 months.
No merger plans
Melgaard reports that Scan Global receives plenty of inquiries from financial investors interested in buying, however, other logistics firms have not approached:
”No, not strategically. There are plenty of financial sponsors interested in us, but we have no dialogs with anyone regarding the integration of us into their business. And this, we have no wish to do,” he says.
According to the Scan Global management, this is linked to the previous statement that integration of the company into another is not the intended direction.
”We wish to create an independent company heading for the stock exchange. I have now been part of this since 1992, and we are gonna finish this task,” says Melgaard.
Scan Global Logistics was founded in 2006 as a merger between Scanam Transport and Mahe Freight by private equity firm BWB Partners, previously known as Odin.
