CMA CGM lays out $3.0 billion to acquire e-commerce 3PL

Fresh off expanding its core business as an ocean container carrier by purchasing a small fleet of cargo jets, French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM Group is diversifying yet again, announcing today that it has taken over the third party logistics provider (3PL) Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services activities (CLS) for a staggering $3.0 billion.

Marseille, France-based CMA CGM said it has acquired “most of” the CLS business, including the company’s “technology forward” logistics businesses in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, as well its Shipwire product, a cloud-based logistics technology platform. The remaining portions of the existing CLS business will be retained by Irvine, California-based Ingram Micro, which itself was acquired in July by the investment group Platinum Equity for $7.2 billion.

According to CMA CGM, the move will strengthen its offerings in logistics to support its customers’ supply chains, since the unit being acquired specializes in e-commerce contract logistics and omnichannel fulfillment.

Indeed, a persistent spike in online shopping during the pandemic has driven decisive changes throughout the logistics landscape, creating sharp demand for warehouse space, last-mile delivery, trucking capacity, 3PL services, and ocean cargo.

CMA CGM’s acquisition may allow it to stake a leadership claim to ride those trends in a single move, since the CLS unit employs 11,500 staff members worldwide across 59 warehouses, with a strong presence in the U.S. and in Europe, and claimed annual revenues of $1.7 billion in 2021. By tucking CLS into its existing Ceva Logistics arm, CMA CGM will create the fourth-largest global provider of contract logistics services, the company said.

“After completing its turnaround this year, our subsidiary Ceva Logistics will accelerate its development and join the world's Top 4 in contract logistics,” Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said in a release. “Its position will be significantly strengthened in the U.S. and European markets, enhancing its ability to seize the opportunities offered by the boom of e-commerce. Committed to providing leading end-to-end supply chain solutions, the CMA CGM Group will continue its development, relying on two solid pillars, shipping and logistics, with a world leadership position in both sectors.”

Michiel Alting von Geusau, Ingram Micro’s current executive vice president, and president of Global Commerce & Life Cycle Services, will continue to lead the business within Ceva Logistics.

Even as Ingram Micro sold off its CLS arm, the company today announced growth plans in a different direction, saying it had made an acquisition of its own, buying a Brazilian managed services provider (MSP) in a bid to expand its cloud services portfolio. Ingram Micro bought BRLink, saying the two companies “expect to continue to invest to enter new cloud markets and expand their combined ecosystem of solutions and services at an accelerated pace.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but BRLink's founder and director, Rafael Marangoni, will continue to lead the company, which becomes a business unit of Ingram Micro Brazil, maintaining all its identity, culture, and brand.

BRLink says it supports companies in their migration to the cloud, managed services, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, accelerating the process of digital transformation.

“We are making good on our promise to invest in Ingram Micro’s growth, expanding in key markets like Latin America and in core product segments like cloud solutions,” Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei and Platinum Equity Managing Director Matthew Louie said in a joint statement. “We will continue pursuing more opportunities to drive growth organically and through acquisitions.”
 
 

[NEWS]
CMA CGM takes a strategic step in #logistics with the acquisition of @IngramMicroInc's Commerce & Lifecycle Services business.

Together, @cevalogistics and CLS business will be one of the world’s leading end-to-end #ecommerce services provider > https://t.co/y6Fowd86NO pic.twitter.com/0Xg6g1bhM9

— CMA CGM Group (@cmacgm) December 8, 2021