By John Miller
ZURICH (Reuters) – Danish logistics company DSV’s $4-billion-plus bid for Panalpina hit a roadblock on Monday when the Swiss freight forwarder’s top shareholder rejected the offer, saying Panalpina should stick to its own “consolidator strategy”.
Panalpina shares were down 6.1 percent at 167.4 Swiss francs at 1214 GMT. They had risen more than a third this year on last month’s DSV offer which was initially pitched at 170 Swiss francs per share.
“DSV continues to carefully review the situation. Further announcements will be made as appropriate,” DSV said in a statement. Its shares traded down around 2.2 percent.
The snub by the Ernst Goehner Foundation, which owns nearly 46 percent of Panalpina, marks the second time in the last few months that DSV Chief Executive Jens Bjorn Andersen has encountered resistance in Switzerland.
In October, CEVA Logistics rejected the Danes’ $1.55 billion (1.19 billion pounds) approach and subsequently deepened ties with French shipping company CMA CGM.
“We strongly believe that Panalpina can create more value for its shareholders, customers and employees through its consolidator strategy than the published non-binding purchase offer from DSV,” said Ernst Goehner Foundation board member Thomas Gutzwiller in a statement.
Another big Panalpina owner, 12.3 percent stakeholder Cevian, has been pushing the Swiss company to consider being bought out, amid its struggles in ocean freight, a delayed IT system and profitability and growth that have lagged rivals.
Sweden-based Cevian declined to comment.
Andersen wants Panalpina’s air and sea freight operations to help DSV consolidate the fragmented freight-forwarding industry. The deal, if it succeeds, would make DSV the industry’s fourth-largest player, behind DHL Logistics, Kuehne & Nagel and DB Schenker.
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