Stars shine at night
A French express provider takes over a German one.
Group Sterne, a leading French provider of time-critical and express logistics services, has acquired the German firm Nox Nachtexpress. The goal? A stronger position in the overall European market.
Groupe Sterne, founded 50 years ago and based in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, considers itself to be “a major European player for sustainable transport and premium multi-service logistics operations”. Today, in addition to running its services in France and all across Europe, it is also active in parts of Asia, as well as with a network of international partners.
In addition to its transport options and its overnight express services Groupe Sterne (Sterne is German for stars) has a digital platform and has developed three solutions called ‘time critical’, ‘urban’ and ‘day express’. It generated revenues of approximately EUR 270 million last year.
Nox Nachtexpress (Nox is Latin for night) operates 20 depots in Germany and is present in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The firm, which was acquired by the private equity fund SSVP III in 2016, generated total revenues of approximately EUR 280 million last year. The new group now has more than 80 depots in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, more than 6,000 shippers and approximately 2,100 employees worldwide.
Groupe Sterne’s executive chairman Daniel Desage and its CEO Laurent De Rosnay said that “this merger represents an important development for both companies. It enables us to provide pan-European services and fosters our expanding strategic partnerships with our clients.” The proposed transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of the year, subject to the approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities.