DFDS EXPANDS LOGISTICS NETWORK TO TÜRKIYE

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT no. 24 - 9 April 2024

• DFDS acquires international transport network connecting Türkiye and Europe from Ekol Logistics
• Network had revenue of DKK 3.5bn and 3,700 employees in 2023
• Acquisition replicates DFDS’ ferry/road business model to the Mediterranean and connects Türkiye to the existing DFDS network
• Transaction enterprise value of DKK 1.9bn equals a 7.6x EV/EBITDA and 0.55x EV/Sales for 2023
• Transaction conditional upon EU merger control approval
• Investor/analyst conference call Tuesday 9 April 2024 at 4.00pm CET, see registration details below.

 

DFDS has today entered into an agreement to acquire the international transport network of Ekol Logistics (the “Company”). Ekol Logistics is a leading Turkish transport and logistics company headquartered in Istanbul.

The Company transports goods between Türkiye and Europe with own offices and facilities in 10 European countries. More than half of transports provided are intermodal using combinations of road, ferry, and rail making the Company the largest customer of DFDS’ Mediterranean ferry route network.

“This acquisition is an excellent strategic match for DFDS. Transporting large trailer volumes reliably and efficiently using combinations of road, ferry, and rail is our core business. Moreover, we believe Türkiye’s role as a manufacturing hub for Europe will become even stronger in the future as nearshoring drives supply chains closer to end markets”, says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.

“I’m delighted that Ekol Logistics’ international transport network and all its skilled and dedicated employees have found a new home with our longstanding partner DFDS. This combination has the potential to make the transport infrastructure between Türkiye and Europe more efficient and help raise Türkiye’s attractiveness as a manufacturing hub further”, says Ahmet Musul, founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Ekol Logistics.

The Türkiye-Europe transport market is on average expected to grow by around 14% annually until 2028 (CAGR for 2020-2023 was 15%) and the acquisition thereby expands DFDS’ network to a high-growth region supported by nearshoring of supply chains closer to Europe.

Strategic fit and business model
The acquisition is fully aligned with DFDS’ transport network strategy focused on moving goods in trailers by ferry, road, and rail, and on offering complementary logistics solutions.