Swiss logistics firm Panalpina has announced that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Danish freight forwarder DSV to acquire the company at a price of CHF170 ($172) per share, comprising a mix of cash and DSV shares. DSV’s proposal would value the company at around CHF4bn ($4.05bn).
The move follows on from Panalpina failing to acquire rival company Ceva Logistics in October last year. Ceva in the end opted to be taken over by French liner, CMA CGM.
Also last October, Cevian Capital, an activist investor which owns 12.3% of the company’s shares, called for Panalpina to replace its chairman,Peter Ulber, as the company has underperformed rivals for years and should be more open to mergers. The following month the company announced that Ulber would step down in May this year.
“Profitability is only a third of that of the competition, the company is losing market share, Panalpina is not creating value. And this has been the case for years,” Cevian co-founder Lars Forberg said in an interview last year.
Panalpina said the board of directors is now reviewing the proposal in conjunction with its professional advisers.
