C.H. Robinson Buys APC Logistics for $225 Million to Expand in Australia

Logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said Wednesday that it would acquire APC Logistics, which provides freight forwarding and customs brokerage services in Australia and New Zealand, part of a global expansion effort the company says will better serve e-commerce-related shippers.

C.H. Robinson will pay $225 million in cash for APC, the latest in a string of acquisitions totaling more than $1 billion since 2010. The company's last acquisition was Freightquote.com Inc., an online trucking marketplace for which it paid $365 million in early 2015.

Based in Eden Prairie, Minn., C.H. Robinson has operations in 37 countries and worked exclusively with APC for freight forwarding between the U.S. and Australia, said John Wiehoff, C.H. Robinson's chairman and chief executive. Australia is a growing market in which APC has a roughly 10% market share, and acquiring the company will enable C.H. Robinson to capture some shipments moving from Europe and Asia to Australia as well, he added.

"We're excited about being able to go after more of that market share," Mr. Wiehoff said. APC will be integrated into C.H. Robinson's global forwarding division.

The logistics industry has seen a whirlwind of acquisitions in recent years, which Mr. Wiehoff believes is a result of the changing needs of shippers as online shopping grows. As retailers are moving goods through their supply chains at a faster pace, traditional processes such as faxing information between agents are no longer sufficient, he said.

"Most large retailers that we're working with today are going through tremendous changes around e-commerce and how their stores and products get distributed to all their customers around the world," he said. That has created a greater need for freight forwarders to have their own operations globally, and linked to the same technology platforms so providers can more efficiently consolidate, deconsolidate and track shipments.

C.H. Robinson plans to continue to be interested acquisitions that could further its global expansion plans, Mr. Wiehoff said, though the company isn't looking at any other company specifically at the moment.

The rapid pace of acquisitions has prompted concerns among investors and analysts over the ability of logistics companies to merge such far-flung operations. Mr. Wiehoff said this is something C.H. Robinson also fears, but not with APC because the companies have worked together for decades. "We've known them for a long time. We have a good operating relationship with them," he said.

Melbourne, Australia-based APC Logistics is a privately held international freight forwarder that provides ocean, air and customs brokerage to companies shipping into and out of Australia and New Zealand. The company, which has 300 employees in nine offices across the region, had $251 million in revenue for its latest fiscal year, which ended June 30.

C.H. Robinson reported $3.30 billion in revenue for the latest quarter. The company's shares closed at $69.42, down from a 12-month high of more than $75 in April.

Write to Loretta Chao at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 31, 2016 20:35 ET (00:35 GMT)

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