Mergers and Acquisitions in the European transport and logistics market

The value of global and overall European merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2024 increased for the first time since 2021. However, overall deal volume declined, reflecting a shift towards fewer, higher value M&A deals. Despite this, M&A momentum remained strong in the European transport and logistics sector with deal volumes increasing 14 % year-on-year. This analysis examines the specific challenges and issues impacting the transport and logistics market in 2024 and considers the outlook for 2025.

Our Global M&A trends analysis highlights that overall European M&A value saw a 19 % year on year increase in 2024 to US$633 bn, but overall European deal volume declined 8 %, consistent with global trends.

Growth in overall European M&A was supported by a year-on-year rise in Strategic (24%) and Private Equity (PE) (11%) deal value. Growth in PE was slower than Strategic, with Europe and the Americas being the only geographies to witness year-on-year growth in PE deal value.

Within Europe, the UK remained the largest contributor to deal value, accounting for 28 % (US$175 b) of the total for the region.

Global M&A activity is expected to gain further momentum in 2025, driven by falling interest rates, strong economic expansion, substantial uninvested capital, the imperative for business transformation and, potentially, more favourable regulatory conditions.

Utilising Mergermarket and other publicly available data, we focus on the European transport and logistics market, identify key trends in 2024 and assess the outlook for 2025.

Key takeaway 1: M&A momentum remained strong across the European logistics industry in 2024, dominated by smaller and mid-sized deals

The European logistics industry proved resilient and showed a 15 % year-on-year increase in deals from 318 in 2023 to 364 in 2024 as many of the macroeconomic events and geopolitical tensions impacting the industry in 2023 started to ease.

The count in deals were primarily driven by corporates entering new geographies, building scale and enhancing capabilities, as well as pent up demand from PE contributing to higher deal activity.

M&A activity in the sector has been dominated by smaller and mid-sized deals, albeit there were still a number of significant transactions in 2024 including:

• DSV’s proposed acquisition of Schenker from Deutsche Bahn (approximate deal value £12 billion), creating the world’s largest 3PL (third-party logistics provider)
• EP Group’s takeover of International Distribution Services (IDS) (approximate deal value £3.6 bn)
• Apollo Funds acquisition of Evri from Advent International (approximate deal value £2.7 bn)
• GXO’s acquisition of Wincanton (approximate deal value £750 m).

Global supply chain challenges and complexities are providing service providers the opportunity to invest deeply into supply chains with significant upside potential if technology and operational/cost improvements are put in place, including for bolt-on acquisitions. This buy and build strategy is attractive to both PE and corporates.

Large service providers are also building deeper sector specialisms making them indispensable to their customer base.

Source: Mergermarket, Deloitte analysis

Key takeaway 2: Corporate buyers represented 75 % of 2024 logistics deals but PE remains active in the market

Market consolidation continued in 2024. Corporate deals increased 12 % year on year and represented 75 % of deal activity in 2024 (around 2 % reduction in proportion compared with 2023).

Some of the largest deals of 2024 were corporate-led, driven by strategies to enter new geographies and/or consolidate, including deals that Deloitte worked on such as:

• acquisition of the UK’s largest haulier Maritime Transport by MSC subsidiary Medlog
• sale of Edge Worldwide Logistics to DP World
• sale of Global Freight Solutions to International Logistics Group Ltd (Yusen Logistics/NYK group)
• acquisition of International Airfreight Associates (IAA) by JAS Worldwide
• acquisition of H&S Group by Den Hartogh
• acquisition of Bakker Logistiek by STEF.

PE backed deals in the sector followed the wider European trend, increasing by 13 % year on year to 81 in 2024, with PE firms investing in a variety of subsectors including haulage and transport, couriers and parcels, warehousing and third-party logistics. This could be due to PE groups capitalising on the continued disruption to the logistics industry and relatively weak market conditions (e.g. higher interest rates) in 2024 which have enabled more acquisitions at favourable terms. Deloitte has worked on a number of significant PE backed deals during 2024, as funds look for opportunities to diversify their portfolio and support investments to execute on growth opportunities, including expanding into new geographies and/or areas of the supply chain, including:

• acquisition of Evri (as mentioned above), by Apollo funds
• acquisition of Combined Cargo Terminals (CCT) by Northleaf Capital Partners
• acquisition of Dutch inland port and rail terminal operator CTH by Infracapital
• acquisition of Suttons Tankers by leading Dutch transport company Schenk Tanktransport, a portfolio company of Argos Wityu.

Note: Management buyouts and undisclosed buyers not included
Source: Mergermarket, Deloitte analysis

Key takeaway 3: 44 % of deals in 2024 were cross-border, indicating that M&A remains an attractive strategy to enter new markets and deliver growth

Of the 364 logistics deals announced in 2024, 159 (44%) were cross-border acquisitions, and around three-quarters of those were made by corporates, reflecting a continuation of the trend to use M&A as a vehicle to enter new territories and expand geographical coverage.

312 acquisitions (86%) were led by European buyers compared to 52 buyers (14%) based across the rest of the world. Among European buyers, France and Spain made up the largest number of deals in 2024 with 39 (11%) and 37 (10%) deals, respectively, followed by the UK and the Netherlands with 9 % each. The US made up the majority of the acquisitions from across the rest of the world with 19 (5%) deals.

Key takeaway 4: The Warehousing subsector has shown the largest year-on-year increase in deal activity

Haulage/transport (including multi-modal transport) and Freight forwarding/supply chain solutions continue to be the largest target subsectors and made up 29 % and 15 % of deals in 2024, respectively. However, the Warehousing and storage subsector showed the largest year-on-year increase in deal activity of over 180 % from 11 deals in 2023 to 31 in 2024. This is primarily driven by targets which cater to unique handling needs such as bulk liquid and fuel storage, and temperature-controlled warehousing.

Only 30 % of targets in 2024 were acquired by a bidder within the same subsector suggesting buyers are seeking to diversify their offerings, with a focus on vertical integration across the logistics value chain.

Note:

• Haulage/transport includes road transport and rail operators
• Shipping relates to vessel operators
• 3PL represent warehousing, distribution and fulfilment companies
• Other primarily includes port operators and services (excl. towing).

FY25 outlook

We expect 2025 to be another exciting year for M&A in the logistics industry, with activity continuing to grow.

As supply chain challenges and complexities continue, including the potential for higher tariffs and changing source points following the 2024 US election, so does the importance of minimising disruption and securing supply chains. We expect that investment in freight forwarding/supply chain solutions companies will continue to increase, along with large corporates acquiring to build scale and secure routes across a variety of modes of transport and across geographies to serve global customers.

We anticipate that logistics customers will need to work ever closer with supply chain service providers. However, the rapid pace of consolidation and integration within the industry presents a challenge for providers to effectively support customers in adapting their supply chains. This need for agility and customer-centric solutions will drive further innovation and opportunities for acquisitions that enhance existing capabilities.

The expanding interest in temperature controlled (cold chain) logistics solutions is also expected to continue given that demand is driven largely by commodities, such as foods and pharmaceuticals.

M&A in the European logistics industry has shown resilience in the post-pandemic period, with both corporate and PE buyers interested in the sector. Logistics service providers are becoming increasingly important as availability of supply is becoming a top priority for their clients. As a result, buyers in the market with available cash are acquiring and integrating at pace to prepare themselves for a more dramatic consolidation shift in the industry.

Methodology: The deal dataset used for this analysis was sourced from Mergermarket and includes deals tagged as Transportation, excluding those involving buses, aviation, passenger operators, and towage services. Deloitte has allocated subsectors based on company descriptions from Mergermarket and publicly available data.