EV Cargo purchases 75% stake Air Express Cargo as it expands its presence in Europe

Freight forwarder EV Cargo has purchased a 75% stake in Spain-based Air Express Cargo as it looks to expand its presence in Europe.

Air Express Cargo was formed in 2004 and operates out of offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, providing air and sea forwarding and customs brokerage services on behalf of importers and exporters across Spain.

The acquisition of Air Express Cargo will add “customer depth and provide access to additional global trade lanes from Europe to US and South America”.

Air Express Cargo will be branded as EV Cargo Spain and current founder and chief executive Francisco de la Sita will continue to own 25% of the shares and take up the role of country managing director.

The Hong Kong-headquartered firm said the “strategic acquisition” would add another market to its “rapidly expanding European platform”, which offers 20 offices and over 400,000 sq ft of warehousing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, France, Switzerland and Greece.
EV Cargo vice president, Europe, Marc Terpstra, said: “Spain is an increasingly important market for us as we manage supply chains for the world’s leading brands, and we look forward to quickly developing our full-service proposition across air and sea freight, road freight and contract logistics to serve both existing and new customers.”

The deal is not EV Cargo’s first this year. In March, the company acquired Netherlands-headquartered Fast Forward Freight.
It also has ambitions of further growth and aims to surpass $3bn of revenue by 2025 through organic growth and strategic M&A activities.
Meanwhile, Air Cargo News sister title Motor Transport in August reported the company was considering whether to float on the London Stock Exchange.

However, a spate of failed flotations in the UK may lead it to play safe and choose either the New York or Hong Kong stock exchanges.