DFDS reinforces its logistics business with new acquisition
Danish ferry operator DFDS is developing its logistics business. After several acquisitions in various parts of Europe, the company has focused on the home market and the Baltic Sea. ICT Logistics, the Jutland-based freight forwarder, will soon become a part of the DFDS Group.
No sooner had DFDS completed the acquisition of HSF Logistics Group than it announced another deal of the same type. This time the Copenhagen-based ferry operator purchased the company in the home market. It is ICT Logistics, the freight forwarder with a headquarter in the Danish city of Herning. For almost two decades, since 2003, DFDS has been owning 19.9 per cent of ICT Logistics, now it switches to full ownership.
The new acquisition will strengthen the logistics business of DFDS, especially in the Baltic Sea region. ICT Logistics provides full- and part-loads between east and west Europe via road, air, sea, river, and rail. Its services include oversize cargo, warehousing, distribution, and customs clearance. The Herning-based freight forwarder has a strong footprint in Northern and Eastern Europe as it runs offices in the UK, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania as well as Romania, Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, the company with a staff of 80 people operates a fleet of around 600 semi-trailers and owns 20 trucks.
Previous acquisitions
For DFDS, the merger-and-acquisition policy is a crucial part of the company’s strategy within the past years. In 2018 it purchased U.N. Ro-ro, the Turkish logistics operator that specialises in ro-ro and multimodal solutions. This allows the Danish ferry operator to enter the Mediterranean Sea. During the following three years, DFDS was focused on the Dutch market. In 2019 it acquired Huisman Group and at the beginning of 2021 launched the acquisition of HSF Logistics Group. With the two companies, DFDS reinforced its logistics division for moving freight to the British Isles and across continental Europe, especially between Germany and the Benelux.