Scan Global receives CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII (CVC) as new majority stakeholder

Fast-growing freight forwarder Scan Global Logistics has a new majority shareholder in the shape of private equity fund CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII (CVC).

CVC has acquired the shareholding from an investor group led by AEA Investors Small Business Private Equity (AEA) but details of the transaction were not released.

AEA will continue as minority shareholders, and the SGL Management team will co-invest as well alongside CVC and AEA.

SGL, which has annual revenues of more than $3bn, said that the deal would allow it further accelerate international growth and meet revenue targets.

Allan Melgaard, global chief executive and co-founder of SGL, said: “We are ambitious and believe that we can reach our revenue target of more than $5bn during the next few years by continuing to leverage our entrepreneurial culture, agile decision-making, and high customer satisfaction obtained through tailored competitive logistics solutions.”

He added: “We are excited to welcome CVC onboard. Our talks over the past months and CVC’s support for our ambitious growth strategy and plans have convinced us that they are a perfect match for SGL professionally and culturally, and will support our future plans via their deep industry knowledge.”

ChristofferSjøqvist, senior managing director at CVC, said: “SGL has built a competitive company and global logistics platform in a relatively short period of time.

“We are excited about our investment in SGL and believe that the company has the potential to become one of the leaders in its industry, and continue to improve its competitive situation, including during a more challenging economic climate in 2023.”

SGL has been growing rapidly over recent years through acquisitions and organic growth. Since 2017 the company has achieved average annual growth in revenues of 33% thanks to more than 30 acquisitions and above-market organic growth.

The company’s key verticals include aid & relief, fashion & retail, automotive, technology, general manufacturing, food ingredients & additives, and pharma & healthcare.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval and certain financing conditions.