At that size, the newly-created Mondiale VGL would be propelled into the top 30 ocean freight forwarders globally, alongside shipping giants like up-for-sale Toll Group, DHL, UPS and Maersk.
Freight forwarders like Mondiale and Visa are the intermediaries that arrange how shipments get from A to B. They don’t own the boats/planes/trucks that make the journey happen, but handle things like clearing customs, warehousing and wharf transport.
IPO down the track
A merger makes sense for the pair, which were described to this column as a mirror image of each other on different sides of the Tasman.
Both companies are among the biggest freight forwarders in each of their countries and don’t seriously play in each other’s home markets. Put them together and you get the largest privately owned freight forwarder in the Oceania region.
News of the merger comes about six months after New Zealand private equity firm Direct Capital and the NZ’s Accident Compensation Corporation bought half of Mondiale from its founders.
It marked the first investment out of Direct Capital’s sixth fund, which it raised $NZ425 million for in March last year. While Direct Capital involvement in the merger was unclear, it is understood the buyout fund would sit on Mondiale VGL’s board.
And the merger could be the springboard for another deal for Mondiale VGL.
While the company’s focus over the next year or two will no doubt be about integrating the two businesses, it is understood an initial public offering may be on the cards further down the line.
KPMG advised Mondiale on the merger, while Greenstone Partners tended to Visa Global Logistics.