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IJS sells out to Gefco
[ September 23, 2015 // Chris ]GEFCO Group is to acquire the Netherlands-based air and sea forwarder IJS Global following an agreement with the private equity fund Nimbus.
Founded in 2004, Amsterdam-headquartered IJS has around 500 employees and operations in 16 countries including the UK Australia, China, South-East Asia and the US.
Its turnover was €160 million in 2014. Its business sectors include pharmaceuticals, humanitarian relief, high-tech, oil & gas, aerospace and fashion.
The deal will be effective after completion of regulatory formalities.
Gefco, which started life as a subsidiary of French carmarkers Peugeot-Citroen but is now 75% owned by the Russian railways, said the two businesses expertise, geographic networks and customer portfolios would complement each other.
As well as improved geographic coverage, Gefco said the acquisition would further enhance its expertise in intercontinental air and sea freight forwarding, including multimodal transport, storage, Customs and tax representation. Gefco chairman Luc Nadal said: “The acquisition of IJS Global is fully in line with our development strategy. This operation will allow GEFCO to enhance its position as the preferred partner of international industrial companies. Our mission is to bring value to our customers’ supply chains while enabling them to achieve greater growth and competitiveness.”
The combined group will operate in over 150 countries and connect over 350 destinations, thereby offering its strategic agents and suppliers new trade opportunities.
IJS chief executive, Sjoerd Van Loon, CEO of IJS Global, said: “We are delighted to join the GEFCO Group, a global leader in high value-added logistics. The networks of both companies are complementary and will significantly contribute to our service offer in all of the world’s key markets. We are looking forward to combining the knowledge and experience of our teams to help us grow.”