EXEL ACQUIRES PART OF POWER PACKAGING

EXEL ACQUIRES PART OF POWER PACKAGING    Exel, a U.K.-based provider of supply chain management services, will buy a number of businesses in the U.S. and the U.K. owned by Power Packaging, a U.S. logistics and packaging services provider.
   Under terms of the deal, Exel will pay $80 million initially and an additional $30 million by 2004, depending on the performance of new contracts.
   “This expands our footprint in what we see as an attractive market,” said Exel’s chief executive, John Allan, referring to retailers such as Unilever and Wal-Mart.''
   Exel has also announced the rebranding as Exel, the German automotive logistics provider known as Werthmann+Koster, a source of supply chain solutions for car manufacturers and suppliers in both Germany and the Czech Republic.
   Exel had acquired Werthmann+Koster in January 2001