Bolloré Logistics, an entity bringing together the transport and logistics activities of the Bolloré group, said on Monday that it had accepted the promise to purchase from the French shipowner CMA CGM on the basis of an enterprise value of 5 billion euros. The two companies had entered into exclusive negotiations on April 18, before the shipowner submitted this promise to purchase 100% of Bolloré Logistics’ activities.
“The Bolloré Group has accepted this promise as an offer,” said the company, which wants to refocus on the media, in a press release. “The procedures for informing and consulting the staff representative bodies […] will now be initiated. The decision on the exercise of this promise will take place at the end of these procedures”, adds the group.
According to Bolloré, “the sale price would be 4.65 billion euros before calculation of debt and cash at the date of completion”. CMA CGM had explained on April 18 that this acquisition project was part of the group’s strategy based on “shipping and logistics, and which aims to offer and develop complete solutions to support the supply chains of his clients “.
Long in the red, CMA CGM took full advantage of the overheating of maritime transport created by the Covid-19 crisis, with a record net profit of more than 23 billion euros in 2022, surpassing all the groups of the CAC 40. The company headed by Rodolphe Saadé has since 2019 multiplied acquisitions and stakes in French and foreign flagships, from Ceva Logistics to Air France-KLM via Eutelsat.
Bolloré, for its part, is engaged in a refocusing on the media, in particular via the giant Vivendi (owner of Canal, Havas and Editis), now majority at Lagardère. Its transport and logistics activities represented in 2022 a turnover of 7.1 billion euros, and establishments in a hundred countries with 13,500 employees.
