The European Commission (EC) has approved CMA CGM’s proposed acquisition of Bolloré Logistics, subject to conditions.
France-headquartered container shipping specialist CMA CGM announced its intention to acquire compatriot forwarder Bolloré Logistics in April 2023. The EC’s investigation showed that the merger, as initially notified, would have reduced competition for ocean freight forwarding services in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana. The deal would have created vertical links between CMA CGM’s upstream container lining shipping activities on routes connecting Europe with Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana and Bolloré Logistics’ downstream ocean freight forwarding activities in those territories.
CMA CGM Group entered into exclusive negotiations with the Bolloré Group to acquire Bolloré Logistics’ transportation and logistics activities in April last year. The deal is thought to be worth about €4.6bn.
The European Commission had expressed concerns about reduced competition resulting from the acquisition, stating that rival freight forwarders could lose out on business.
The Commission outlined the concerns it had and the steps that have been taken to address these concerns. The Commission said its investigation “showed that the merger, as initially notified, would have reduced competition in the markets for the provision of sea freight forwarding services in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana”.
It added: “In particular, the Commission found that the transaction would have created important vertical links between (i) CMA CGM’s upstream container lining shipping activities on routes connecting Europe with Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana; and (ii) Bolloré Logistics’ downstream seafreight forwarding activities in those territories.
“The Commission found that CMA CGM could have the ability and incentive to favour Bolloré Logistics at the expense of rival freight forwarders, in particular, because of CMA CGM’s very high market shares on these overseas routes and the competitive structures in these territories.”
The Commission further stated: “To address the Commission’s competition concerns, the parties offered to divest all of Bolloré Logistics’ activities in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and French Guiana and many assets in metropolitan France linked to these activities.”
If the acquisition goes ahead, Bolloré Group’s logistics business will be combined with that of CMA CGM’s CEVA Logistics to create a powerful air freight forwarder.
Traditionally operating in shipping, CMA CGM has been diversifying its operations in recent years.
Its biggest acquisition in the logistics sphere came in 2018 and 2019 when over a period of several months it acquired a majority shareholding in CEVA Logistics.
More recently it acquired automotive logistics firm Gefco.
The Group has been investing in the development of its CMA CGM Air Cargo business since its launch in 2022.
Meanwhile, the publicly traded Bolloré Group works across three lines of business: transportation and logistics, communications, electricity storage, and systems.
Bolloré Logistics has a presence on five continents and in 111 countries.
The global offering of Bolloré Logistics is built around expertise covering five service areas: multimodal transportation, customs and statutory compliance, logistics, global supply chain, and industrial projects.
The decision to approve the merger is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments. Under the supervision of the EC, an independent trustee will monitor their implementation.
