DP World Acquires Unifeeder

DP World has acquired 100 percent of the Unifeeder Group for €660 million ($764 million) from Nordic Capital Fund VIII and other minority shareholders. 

The Unifeeder Group, founded in 1977 and based in Aarhus, Denmark, reported revenue of €510 million ($590 million) in 2017. The group operates the largest common user container feeder and a growing shortsea network in Europe, serving deep-sea container hubs and the intra-Europe container freight market via about 100 ports. The company provides fully multimodal solutions, combining seaborne transportation with road and/or rail. Unifeeder operates approximately 60 short-term chartered vessels, carrying around 3.2 million TEUs and performing some 12,000 port calls annually. 

Unifeeder will continue to operate on a fully independent, multi-user basis under its current existing management and expects to see additional growth as a consequence of the transaction. 

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World, said: “The ever-growing deployment of ultra-large container vessels has made high-quality connectivity from hub terminals crucial for our customers, and Unifeeder is a best-in-class logistics provider in this space with a strong reputation in Europe. Our aim is to leverage on the in-house expertise of Unifeeder and to accelerate growth in this scalable platform to deliver value for all stakeholders.”

The acquisition is expected to be closed by the end of the year. Jefferies Financial Group acted as joint financial adviser to Unifeeder on the sale.