The consideration valued Keppel Logistics at an enterprise value of $150 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis, even though the entities that were divested registered a net loss of $5.2 million for the FY2021 ended Dec 31, 2021.
The logistics industry, which is traditionally a non-transparent and highly labour-intensive industry, will move to become a total tech-driven business, predicts Onno Boots, president and CEO of Asia-Pacific (Apac) at Geodis, one of the key global players in the transportation and logistics sector.
"Technology is going to be the key driver of this industry going forward… in terms of artificial intelligence, robotics, [especially when] resources are scarce in Apac, Europe and the US,” says Boots in an interview with The Edge Singapore. “We’re going to have to find more efficient ways [of mitigating] the labour shortage [situation].”
“In the next five years, you’ll see an accelerated process in those new tech-driven and enabled businesses,” he continues.
On March 31, Geodis acquired Keppel Logistics from Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) for a total cash consideration of $80 million.
The acquisition included Keppel Logistics’ businesses in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, as well as UrbanFox, but not Keppel T&T’s logistics operations in China. The logistics operations in China encompasses the Jilin Food Zone Logistics Park, the Tianjin Eco-City Distribution Centre, and the Keppel Wanjiang International Coldchain Logistics Park. Keppel Logistics’ stakes in Keppel Puninar Logistics in Indonesia and Indo-Trans Keppel Logistics in Vietnam were not included in the acquisition by Geodis.
