According to a new study, mergers and acquisitions in the transport and logistics sector slumped worldwide last year. Activities declined by 19 percent compared to the previous year, according to the "Transport & Logistics Barometer" of the auditing and consulting firm PwC Germany, which was made available to dpa. The reason for this was the war in Ukraine, high energy prices, and the effects of China's coronavirus policy.
A total of 261 mergers and acquisitions worth more than 50 million euros each were announced last year - 62 fewer than in 2021 - and the total volume of deals fell accordingly from the equivalent of 197.8 billion euros to 167.5 billion euros. The number of particularly large deals worth more than 1 billion dollars fell from 47 in 2021 to 32 last year, according to the report.
"We expect transport and logistics companies to continue to make mergers and acquisitions in 2023 to diversify risks, make their supply chains more resilient and expand their own portfolios," said Ingo Bauer, head of transport, logistics, and tourism at PwC Germany. In particular, takeover targets from critical infrastructure such as ports and terminals, but also warehouses, are likely to become more attractive.
The biggest decline in 2022, Bauer said, was in the Americas, but Chinese participation in acquisitions and mergers also declined. According to PwC, Chinese companies were involved in an average of one in four deals just a few years ago. Now the figure is below 20 percent.
According to the data, particularly popular takeover or merger candidates last year were companies from the logistics and truck transport sector (44 percent). This was followed by targets such as ports and roads, which accounted for just under 25 percent of the total, with strategic investors in particular showing interest, while financial investors were noticeably reluctant to invest due to rising interest rates.
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