DSV now one brand, looking to Central Europe for takeovers

DSV now one brand, looking to Central Europe for takeovers Danish freight forwarder and logistics firm DSV has completed the integration of its DFDS Transport and Frans Maas entities under a single name and is looking to Central Europe for future acquisitions to continue its rapid expansion.
   Brondby-based DSV now operates under three divisions, DSV Air & Sea, DSV Road and DSV Solutions.
   Executives at the company said that part of the rebranding rationale was to avoid confusion with another Danish transportation company, shipping line DFDS, from which DSV acquired the DFDS Dan Transport Group in 2000.
   Following that acquisition, DSV operated under the name DFDS Transport, although it remained listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange under the DSV name.
      The company made its decision to revert to its parent company's name after the purchase of Dutch forwarding, trucking and logistics service group Frans Maas for 433 million euros ($559 million) last April.
   The takeover of Frans Maas helped boost DSV's road network in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, and the company projects its revenue in 2006 to have increased by 43 percent to 4.4 billion euros ($5.68 billion), from 3.08 billion euros in 2005.
   The enlarged company is now a top five transport and logistics provider in Europe and has about 19,000 staff. It has 500 offices in 50 countries worldwide and provides services to more than 100 countries.
   New York-based investment rating service Standard & Poor's earlier this month identified DSV as one of its worldwide top 30 favorite stocks for growth in 2007, citing strong internal growth and merger benefits. DSV said it is looking to Central Europe for takeover opportunities, especially in Germany, France and Italy.
   The company also highlighted Central and South America as areas that it would like to gain a presence in the longer-term, but said it was harder to achieve as no single acquisition would give it access to the entire region.
   'The move to rebrand our business as DSV immediately emphasizes the size and scope of our business in Europe and our growing network in the rest of the world,' said Jens Bjorn Andersen, managing director of DSV Road Ltd. in the United Kingdom.
   'We expect to see continued, profitable growth for our business coupled with DSV's stated intention to continue to seek further acquisitions and mergers that enable us to improve the financial performance of our business and provide our customers with enhanced services and greater geographical reach,' Andersen said.
   Hugh Burnham, managing director of DSV Air & Sea in the U.K. said: 'DSV's goal is to become a top 10 player in the air and sea freight industry through the provision of a truly global operation.
   'We already hold strong positions in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, China, the Nordics, Benelux and Germany, and will meet our growth targets through both the continued development of our existing business and by acquisition. Central Europe is an area of particular interest in the next stage of our strategy,' Burnham said.