UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc on Tuesday said it had entered into a share acquisition deal with Imperial Logistics Limited, a South African Logistics company.
The company said in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos that Imperial Logistics, under the acquisition deal, would acquire a controlling stake in MDS Logistics, a subsidiary of UACN.
It said Imperial Logistics with the arrangement would acquire additional eight per cent shareholding in MDS Logistics from UACN to increase Imperial Logistics’ equity stake from 49 per cent to 57 per cent.
The company said the transaction valued MDS at 40 million dollars about N12.24 billion.
“Under the terms of the transaction, which is still subject to relevant regulatory approvals, Imperial Logistics will transfer selected profitable contracts to MDS and pay 2.4 million dollars in cash,” it said.
MDS is an integrated logistics services provider.
Through its network of warehousing and distributions assets, MDS links manufacturers with customers in more than 400 cities and villages across Nigeria.
MDS is a critical supply chain and distribution partner to some of Nigeria’s leading corporations.
Imperial Logistics is mainly an African and Eurozone logistics provider of outsourced, integrated freight management, contract logistics and distributorship, customised to ensure the relevance and competitiveness of its clients.
The group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa and employs over 25,000 people in 32 countries.
Reacting on the deal, the Chief Executive, African Regions for Imperial Logistics Mr Johan Truter said working with strong partners was at the core of Imperial Logistics’ strategy as it sought to expand its businesses across Africa.
“Core to Imperial Logistics’ strategy is working with strong partners as we seek to expand our businesses across Africa.
“We consider Nigeria to be a strategically important market and we are excited to continue our partnership with UAC to grow MDS and expand its service offering to clients,” Truter said.
Mr Fola Aiyesimoju, UACN Group Managing Director, described the deal as an important milestone for UAC and consistent with the firm’s strategy of working closely with partners in empowering best-in-class management teams.
“Since the commencement of the partnership in 2013, we have been impressed by Imperial Logistics’ operational excellence in warehousing, distribution and transport.
“We look forward to greater integration between MDS and the broader Imperial Logistics platform as we strive to deliver value to clients,” Aiyesimoju said.
The Managing Director MDS, Mr Taiwo Ajibola, said: “we at MDS remain focused on leveraging our assets, technology and capabilities to deliver value to our clients.
‘We will continue to benefit from the strengths of our shareholders, Imperial Logistics and UAC.”
