US Logistics Acquisition for French Road Haulage and Freight Group

FRANCE – US – Road haulage and logistics group, Norbert Dentressangle has completed the acquisition of all the shares of privately held US third party logistics (3PL) provider, Jacobson Companies from Oak Hill Capital Partners, having received all the necessary regulatory approvals. The transaction was valued at $750 million (€560 million) in cash on a debt-free and cash-free basis, plus a capped earn-out relating to future performance. The acquisition is financed through a combination of Norbert Dentressangle reserves and available credit lines.

Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Jacobson employs more than 5,500 people throughout the country and provides value-added warehousing 3PL services in North America with integrated domestic transportation management capabilities. Jacobson manages more than 33 million square feet of warehouse space across 142 sites and in 2013, the company reported an annual revenue of approximately $800 million. Hervé Montjotin, Chief Executive Officer of Norbert Dentressangle, said:

“We are very pleased to announce the completion of this deal. The closing of this acquisition will enable us to begin integrating Jacobson into the Norbert Dentressangle Group and to begin this new step in our development in the US, a strategic market for us.”

The transaction increases the scale of Norbert Dentressangle, both globally with a 15% increase in annual revenue to $6.8 billion (€5 billion), and also in the US logistics and transport market where the group becomes scalable with approximately $800 million of annual gross revenues in 2013.

Upon completion of the transaction, the leverage ratio of Norbert Dentressangle is expected to be in the range of 3.2x by the end of 2014 pro-forma, in accordance with the group’s bank covenants. This leverage ratio is below the one reached with the acquisition of Christian Salvesen in 2007 and comparable to the one reached with the acquisition of TDG in 2011, the last two large strategic moves undertaken by the Group.

The Jacobson transaction will be accretive to Norbert Dentressangle on an EBITDA, EBITA and earnings basis within the first year after the acquisition. Upon completion of the transaction, the US market will represent 14% of Norbert Dentressangle’s annual revenue, making it the third largest operating country for the company.