Johannesburg – Logistics giant DSV Panalpina has completed the acquisition of Globeflight Worldwide Express after the South African competition watchdog gave the deal the green light.
The deal was initially announced in December. Competition Tribunal spokesperson Gillian de Gouveia said the merger was approved subject to various employment- related conditions.
These include that the merged entity will, for a period of three years from the merger implementation date, not retrench any semi-skilled employees; limit the number of retrenchments of skilled employees to no more than 140 employees; and limit the number of retrenchments of professionally qualified employees to no more than 59 employees.
“DSV will maintain a database of the names and contact details of all retrenched employees. Should any vacancies arise within the broader DSV business, DSV will inform the retrenched employees of relevant vacancies for a period of three years following the merger implementation date,” De Gouveia said.
“Retrenched employees who meet the employment criteria will be given preference in the appointment process. Should any trade union members be impacted, DSV will engage with the relevant trade union in the assessment of skills required for vacancies identified.”
The acquisition includes all Globeflight’s operations in South Africa and Swaziland. Globeflight has more than 8 000 clients and delivers a wide range of items from educational supplies to IT and medical equipment.
A fleet of 420 vehicles runs every day of the year, shipping nearly 330 000 deliveries in any given month. DSV Africa CEO Keith Pienaar said the transaction will immediately be able to fortify DSV’s presence in the small express parcel courier sector.
“The acquisition of Globeflight constitutes a great match for DSV in South Africa while at the same time tapping into our global M&A [mergers and acquisition] strategy. Both have a culture that is performance-driven and customer-centric and the client fit is complementary and provides room to grow.
“DSV Panalpina’s courier business typically centres on larger clients, while Globeflight’s strength is in the express and small parcel market with a particular emphasis in the critical business to business market,” he said.
The Denmark-headquartered DSV has been on a global buying spree as it seeks to increase its market share in the competitive industry.
Two years after the acquisition of Swiss-based Panalpina, DSV last month acquired Kuwait-based Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics business in a multi-billion dollars deal.
The acquisition made DSV Panalpina the third-largest logistics and transport company in the world.
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