May 11, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] CJ Logistics has decided to form a consortium with Korean private equity firm STIC Investment to acquire German-based logistics company Schnellecke, according to industry sources on Oct. 26.

STIC Investment reportedly plans invest around 200 billion won (US$175.19million) to 300 billion depending on the size of the deal. The German company’s valuation is projected to be around 1 trillion won.

This is not the first partnership deal between the two Korean companies. CJ Logistics formed a partnership with STIC Investment in 2015 to acquire Chinese firm Rokin Logistics. At the time, 143 billion won was invested by the PEF, out of the total 455 billion won.

CJ is aiming to seal the acquisition deal with US food processor Schwan’s before the month-end through its food unit CJ CheilJedang first, and then start discussing with Schnellecke about the deal.

Since STIC Investment has recently signed deal worth 104 billion won to purchase shares of Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, some sources also anticipate cooperation between Big Hit and CJ ENM, an entertainment business unit of CJ.

Established in 1929, Schnellecke is a major logistics firm in Europe with sales in 2017 reaching around 1.1 trillion won, while posting 200 billion won net profit.

By Song Seung-hyun(ssh@heraldcorp.com)