Bidder in the shadows
The question is, when will the big deal be signed? We’re talking about the sale of Gefco, a logistics corporation with specialised automotive expertise. The price tag has been said to amount to EUR 2.2 billion.
Thomson Reuters not only shone a light on the story, but also made it official. According to reports from the news agency, the vehicle transport company Gefco will be offered for sale by its majority stakeholders, the Russian Railways RŽD and the car-maker Stellantis. The Stellantis holding was created in January 2021 by the merger of the Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, an entity with 14 brands that ‘doth bestride the world like a colossus’ – and has a great need for logistics services.
At the end of 2012 PSA Peugeot Citroën sold 75% of its shares in Gefco to RŽD. Gefco nevertheless retained its role as PSA’s exclusive global logistics services provider. Now the sale of Gefco may well bring the erstwhile buyers of nigh-on ten years ago a windfall of more than EUR 2 billion, as “well-informed sources” have suggested to Thomson Reuters. The banks JP Morgan and Rothschild are the lead banking institutions to the transaction. The bidder has not been officially named yet.
Market analysts have estimated that Gefco might generate an ebitda of approximately EUR 345 million in 2021, on the back of total sales amounting to around EUR 4.4 billion.
