Norbert Dentressangle to buy TDG in £196 million deal

The two businesses will form a group with combined annual revenues of Eur 3.6 billion. TDG is a major European player in transport, logistics and freight forwarding, and its revenue for 2009 was £662m. 2010 revenue is estimated to be £700m. Three quarters of sales come from the UK and 12% from the Benelux countries. TDG works across the entire supply chain with an integrated service which includes logistics, transport and freight forwarding. Its clients include Akzo Nobel and Tata Steel. Due to the strong fit with TDG, 53% of Norbert Dentressangle's business will be road transport, with the largest wholly-owned fleet in Europe (more than 8,000 tractor units and 11,000 trailers); 44% of the business will be logistics, with nearly 6.5 million square metres of warehousing; and 3% freight forwarding. François Bertreau (pictured), chief executive officer of Norbert Dentressangle, said: "TDG is a leading player in the market and we are very happy and proud of this agreement with DouglasBay Capital plc. While retaining our financial flexibility this transaction consolidates our presence in each of our three sectors and considerably strengthens our freight forwarding business, allowing us to better meet the needs of our clients at international level. I am confident in our ability to integrate TDG quickly and effectively, improving our services to clients and making the most of best practice on both sides." Once the deal is finalised, Norbert Dentressangle will become the third largest logistics business in the UK.