DFDS has entered into an agreement to acquire the international transport network of Ekol Logistics that transports goods between Türkiye and Europe through own offices and facilities in 10 European countries. The international transport network of Ekol Logistics has 3,700 employees and a revenue of DKK 3.5bn (EUR 470m) in 2023. The purchase price is DKK 1.9bn (EUR 260m).     

With the acquisition, DFDS adds road transport to DFDS’ Mediterranean ferry network, thereby extending DFDS’s northern European ferry/road business model to this region. In addition, DFDS’s logistics network is expanded across Europe.  

“This acquisition is an excellent strategic match for DFDS. Transporting large trailer volumes reliably and efficiently using combinations of road, ferry, and rail is our core business. Moreover, we believe Türkiye’s role as a manufacturing hub for Europe will become even stronger in the future as nearshoring drives supply chains closer to end markets”, says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.  

“I’m delighted that Ekol Logistics’ international transport network and all its skilled and dedicated employees have found a new home with our longstanding partner DFDS. This combination has the potential to make the transport infrastructure between Türkiye and Europe more efficient and help raise Türkiye’s attractiveness as a manufacturing hub further”, says Ahmet Musul, founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Ekol Logistics. 

The Türkiye-Europe transport market is on average expected to grow by around 14% annually until 2028 supported by nearshoring of supply chains closer to Europe.    

The addition of the international transport network of Ekol Logistics, enables DFDS to offer end-to-end transport solutions between Türkiye and Europe directly to end customers, including distribution services and warehousing to Turkish companies and European and global manufacturers with production or assembly plants in Türkiye.  

In 2023 the international transport network of Ekol Logistics had a revenue of DKK 3.5bn (EUR 470m) and an EBIT-margin of 2,5 %, down from 4,8 % in 2022. A business and integration plan is in place with the financial objective to improve the EBIT-margin to around 5% by 2027. 

Completion of the transaction is conditional upon EU merger control approval and usual contractual conditions. As announced on 28 July 2023, the transaction has been approved by the Turkish Competition Authority. Closing is expected around the beginning of Q4 2024.   

OUTLOOK REVISED DUE TO ACQUISITION IMPACT

The financial outlook for 2024 has been revised following the acquisition.

The DFDS Group’s revenue is in 2024 now expected to increase by 8-11% compared to 2023 assuming the acquisition is closed at the beginning of Q4 2024. The previously expected revenue increase in 2024 was 5-8%.

The 2024 outlook for EBIT is unchanged DKK 2.0-2.4bn.

Due to an expected integration period of 2-3 years, the time for achieving the financial ambition of a ROIC of around 10% in 2026 is extended to 2027.

The above-mentioned acquisition is at closing expected to increase DFDS’ financial leverage, NIBD/EBITDA, by around 0.3x on a pro forma basis.

The financial ambition of reducing financial leverage to 2.5x in 2026 is unchanged as is the financial ambition of generating an annual Adjusted free cash flow of DKK 1.5bn in the period 2024-2026.

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