JOC Staff | Aug 15, 2011 9:53AM EDT
British contract logistics operator Wincanton will pull out of mainland Europe under an agreement to sell its business there to Germany’s Rhenus for $107 million.
Wincanton says the deal announced Monday will allow the company to focus on its core distribution business in the United Kingdom “where we have greater scale and see significant potential for profitable growth.”
The agreement will also give Rhenus a network of more than 60 distribution centers that employs 3,000 people and counted more than $800 million in gross revenue in the fiscal year ending March 31. Wincanton also has significant intermodal distribution operations out of northern Germany.
The mainland Europe business generated $6 million in profit last year, Wincanton said.
Rhenus has some 290 stations employing more than 18,000 people around the world and the Wincanton business will add to that scale while eliminating a competitor from the mainland Europe market.
Rhenus will pay about $64 million in cash and another $43 million to cover a pension deficit at the European business.