Gefco to be listed on Paris branch of Euronext exchange
The French logistician is planning to open up to new shareholders. Majority stakeholder RŽD could reduce its share to less than 50%. Gefco also recently fortified its position in its French domestic market by extending a contract with Würth.
The Russian state-owned railway enterprise RŽD has owned a majority stake in the French logistics company Gefco for almost seven years. Now the French firm is planning to launch an IPO, resulting in the concomitant reorganisation of its ownership structure. Gefco has submitted an application to the French financial supervisory authority to be accepted in the Paris branch of the Euronext stock exchange. Gefco chief executive officer Luc Nadal is convinced that Gefco will be very interesting for investors. “We’ve proven that we can make a profit and are very well-positioned for future growth.”
Should the listing come about, then RŽD would be prepared to reduce its stake to less than 50%. Car-maker PSA may cut its stake from just under 25% to 10%. Automobile logistics remains important for Gefco, but other activities have also become more significant. On top of this Gefco has reduced its dependence on PSA. In 2017, 56% of its sales were generated by PSA, but this figure is declining.
Contract with Würth extended
One examples that perfectly illustrates Gefco’s diversification is provided by the services it carries out for Würth France. Gefco has handled the logistics needs of the assembly technology provider since 2012 and recently extended this contract by another three years. Würth runs two large logistics facilities in Erstein and Montélimar that serve the north and the south of France. Gefco employees have already worked in these two platforms so far; their number is now set to grow; they will help prepare the goods for on-forwarding. In future Gefco will be in charge of all goods deliveries from the Montélimar logistics centre to Würth’s hubs. According to Gefco France president Emmanuel Delachambre his firm will transform Würth’s supply chain into a value-adding chain in the medium term.
