The company has signed an agreement to buy a controlling 75% stake in Germany’s Fair Trade GmbH, which offers FCL and LCL consolidation services.
“The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Allcargo Belgium N.V. (WOS) has entered into a share purchase agreement with NBG Logistik Beteiligungs- und Beratungsges. mbH to acquire 75% stake in Fair Trade GmbH Schiffahrt, Handel und Logistik,” Allcargo said in an announcement.
Fair Trade GmbH operates out of Bremen and Hamburg.
The investment move comes on the heels of Allcargo announcing a light-asset based growth strategy.
“Restructuring would be planned on the principles of simplicity in structure and effectiveness in management,” it noted. “The company continues to focus on asset light businesses and evaluate strategic acquisitions across the world to further strengthen its competitive positioning.”
The company earlier this month also won approval from its board to acquire a 30% stake Japan’s Kintetsu World Express (KWE) holds in Gati-Kintetsu Express (GKEPL). GATI was acquired by Allcargo in 2019.
“This (investment) is also based on our belief in India’s rapid growth and emergence as major manufacturing hub for the world,” said Allcargo chairman Shashi Kiran Shetty in a statement. “This will lead to consistent economic progress, keeping in mind our young aspiring fellow Indians.”
Shetty also noted, “We share an extremely close relationship with KWE Group built on mutual respect and that shall continue across businesses. With this acquisition, we shall be able to expedite our restructuring plans to take Gati forward.”
ECU Worldwide sports a network of more than 300 offices in as many as 180 countries. Its most recent acquisition was Scandinavian LCL service provider Nordicon, announced in July last year.
Amid that network expansion and diversification, Allcargo has seen strong growth in recent years.
“The continued positive momentum in growth over last year has been an outcome of strategic and transformational initiatives undertaken by the company,” it said.
The group explained, “There has been a sustained increase in revenues coming through digital platform ECU360, which now accounts for over 60% of export bookings across all key markets.”
It further explained, “Express and CFS business have also continued to gain significant traction in digitisation of customer touch points.”
