Deal Brief Transport & Logistics - Kuehne + Nagel

Deal Highlights

• IMAP acted as the sell-side advisor to Kuehne + Nagel Brazil, who had decided to divest its road freight business in Brazil as it was more geared towards logistic transaction volumes rather than based on customer relationships.
• Kuehne + Nagel’s domestic road freight business, which also includes routes between Brazil and Argentina and Uruguay, was sold to BBM Logística, a Brazilian road freight company and investee from Brazilian Private Equity Group – Stratus.
• Stratus’s investment in BBM represents one of the very few investments made by the Private Equity segment in the road freight transportation business in Brazil.
• The relationship built up with the client, a leading global logistics company, in conjunction with the success of the transaction, has opened the door for future M&A opportunities for IMAP with Kuehne + Nagel, as well as other companies in this industry, both in Brazil and elsewhere. 

Market Outlook

• Due to the lack of a sufficient rail network, road transportation has become the main logistics
  mode in Brazil, now representing over 65% of the market.
• The road freight transportation market in Brazil is still very fragmented and there are only a limited
  number of players with the critical scale required to be leading consolidators.
• The acquisition of Kuehne + Nagel’s road freight business by BBM is believed to be the harbinger of
  further consolidation in the industry.

Valuation Summary

• Deal financials have not been made publicly available, however, given the circumstances of the
  Brazilian economy, which is recovering from its worst recession since 1929, the transaction achieved a
  satisfactory valuation.

IMAP Approach

• The relationship between Hans-Hasso Kersten, Partner at IMAP Germany, with Kuehne + Nagel, was
  instrumental in IMAP Brazil obtaining the mandate for the client’s divestment project in Brazil.
• By demonstrating its breadth of experience, along with its strong local knowledge, IMAP Brazil was
  selected over several other potential financial advisors.

Client Comment

Dr. Marc Strolz, Kuehne + Nagel:
“We are very happy with the result of the transaction and the professional performance of the IMAP team, particularly in light of the actual situation of the Brazilian economy.”