The Danish shipping & logistics company has proposed DKK1.9 billion (€260 million) for the Turkish forwarder's international transport network.
Completion of the transaction is conditional upon EU merger control approval (the Turkish Competition Authority gave its green light in July 2023) and usual contractual conditions. Closing is expected around the beginning of Q4 2024. The transaction will be financed by a combination of loan financing and use of existing cash funds.
Once approved, Ekol Logistics will become part of DFDS' Logistics Division. In addition to operational integration, IT systems will be integrated (a process expected to take around three years).
With Ekol Logistics, DFDS will grow with offices and facilities in ten European countries, including 26 warehouses with a total capacity of 120 thousand square metres (of which three-quarters are cross-docking terminals for part-load transports). Additionally, DFDS will gain Ekol's equipment fleet, among others, 1,300 trucks, 3,900 trailers, and 600 containers. In 2023, the Turkish company employed 3,700 people.
Ekol's customers are mainly European and global manufacturers with production or assembly plants in Türkiye and Europe, as well as Turkish export companies. The primary sectors served are automotive, industrial parts, and textiles/garments. The top three transport flow corridors are between Türkiye and Germany, Spain, and France, respectively. Ekol's cargo flows are divided 60/40 between full- and part-load transports. Every four in five shipments uses some combination of road/rail/ferry transportation, making Ekol the largest customer of DFDS' Mediterranean ferry route network (Ekol's transport network builds on a partnership since 2019 with DFDS through a long-term customer agreement providing stable access to ferry capacity in the Med). The company also offers customs services.
Photo: DFDS