Deutsche Post AG agreed to buy fellow German logistics specialist J.F. Hillebrand Group AG for 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), boosting its position in the lucrative beverage-transportation market.
Hillebrand was founded 175 years ago as a carrier of wine barrels, and also moves beer, spirits, dairy products, olive oil and bulk liquids. The purchase, announced Tuesday, is Bonn-based Deutsche Post’s biggest since the 2005 acquisition of U.K. freight group Exel Plc for $7 billion.
Adding Hillebrand will strengthen Deutsche Post’s seaborne containers unit, which has struggled to match growth at its DHL express-parcels arm triggered by surging demand for online shopping during the pandemic. The group is competing with Sinotrans Ltd. of China for second spot in the oceanic freight forwarding market, behind Switzerland’s Kuehne + Nagel International AG.
Source: Bloomberg
By Jan-Henrik Foerster, Myriam Balezou, and Richard Weiss
