Panalpina finalizes Air Connection acquisition

Basel, Switzerland-based Panalpina completed its acquisition of Kenyan freight forwarder Air Connection last week.    Panalpina, a Basel, Switzerland-based international freight forwarder and third-party logistics provider, said last week that it finalized its acquisition of Air Connection.
   Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   Air Connection is a freight forwarder specializing in the export of flowers and vegetables from Kenya to multiple regions, including the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It has operations close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and in Mombasa.
   Under the deal, Air Connection’s perishables business is being merged with Panalpina Airflo.
   The merged company will employ over 350 staff in Nairobi and will have an office at the Port of Mombasa, where Panalpina plans to develop the ocean freight business for perishables (using reefers) and dry cargo, Panalpina revealed back in May when the two companies reached an agreement on the acquisition.
   The combined business increases Panalpina Airflo’s existing cold storage capabilities to 4,200 square meters dedicated to perishables.
   Looking ahead, construction has already begun to boost the cold storage for perishables, which will be completed next year.
   The Air Connection acquisition follows Panalpina buying a majority stake in airfreight forwarder Airflo from Dutch Flower Group, which was finalized in 2016.