September 8, 2020: It’s not just at the top of the container leaderboard where consolidation is necessary to survive; the world of feeder operators is also coming under tremendous pressure.
DP World-controlled Unifeeder Group confirmed last month it is buying Transworld Feeders FZCO, Avana Logistek , including its subsidiary Avana Global FZCO, and Transworld Feeders, the containerised Indian coastal and EXIM feeder shipping operations of Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, excluding vessels and bulk operations. The proposed transaction is meant to be completed by the end of the year and would place Unifeeder as the world’s largest feeder operator.
Putting some flesh on the bones to the deal, Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, part of the Transworld Group, explained the rationale for the deal in a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Shreyas Shipping and Logistics’ EBITDA has declined by around 60% since 2018, with the company citing an inability to grow revenues in line with costs in an “increasingly competitive environment”.
“Greater scale together with a robust network of in-land terminals, port and marine infrastructure is critical to delivering efficiencies to the customer,” Shreyas Shipping and Logistics stated, adding: “Such scale could only have been accessed inorganically”.
Further feeder consolidation is in the offing across the world with X-Press Feeders, close to being toppled off its top spot, readying its own acquisitions.
Source: SPLASH247.COM
