05 april 2013
Nordic Capital Fund VIII (“Nordic Capital”) has reached an agreement to acquire the leading Danish logistics company Unifeeder (“Unifeeder” or “the Company”) from Montagu Private Equity (“Montagu”). The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Unifeeder, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, is a market leader with Northern Europe's largest feeder and short sea network for container transportation, serving the world’s container hubs and the Intra-Europe container freight of large industrial companies. In 2012, Unifeeder’s extensive network handled almost two million container units and made over 8,000 calls in more than 40 ports.
Unifeeder benefits from increasing global trade volumes which are expected to continue to outpace global GDP growth. This trend, coupled with Unifeeder’s cost-effectiveness and high quality service, has primed the Company for continued organic and acquisitive growth. Furthermore, the use of Intra-Europe short sea container shipping is expected to increase due to rising costs of road transport, EU policy initiatives and environmental concerns, which will also serve to support the future growth of the Company.
Over the past six years, Unifeeder has expanded into new markets such as the UK and Western Mediterranean, as well as invested to enhance its networks, logistical operations and management structures.
Mads Hansen, Director and Head of the Nordic region at Montagu Private Equity, said:
“Unifeeder has performed exceptionally well since Montagu invested in 2007 and we are delighted with the company’s achievements. Together with the CEO Jesper Kristensen and his team, we have continuously grown the business, despite challenging market conditions at times, and expanded the company from a local operation into a pan-European business. We wish Nordic Capital and the management team continued success with Unifeeder.”
Lars Terney, Partner NC Advisory A/S, advisor to the Nordic Capital funds, said:
“Nordic Capital sees an attractive platform for further and accelerated organic and acquisitive growth, given Unifeeder’s strong operational capabilities as a cost-effective quality logistics service provider and the favourable dynamics of the industry. There is excellent expansion potential within both the feeder and short sea business in current and new geographies. Nordic Capital has a proven track record in supporting management teams in realising high growth ambitions and looks forward to taking this next step together with Unifeeder’s experienced management and skilled employees.”
Jesper Kristensen, CEO of Unifeeder said:
“During our partnership with Montagu, Unifeeder has delivered strong growth and we are proud of our development and expansion in recent years. We are committed to delivering a high-quality reliable service and are recognised for our innovation and cost-effective transportation solutions, which have been key to our growth and performance during challenging economic times. We are now a much stronger company to the benefit of both our customers and us, and we look forward to partnering with Nordic Capital during the next chapter of Unifeeder’s development and further expanding our growth potential.”
Montagu was advised by Canaccord Genuity on the transaction. Nordic Capital was advised by Citigroup and UniCredit.
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