Toll Group bids for Baltrans

Toll Group bids for Baltrans Toll Group, an Australia-based company that is one of Asia's largest logistics companies, has made a bid to take over BALtrans Holdings Ltd.
   Toll has annual revenues of more than $6.5 billion; BALtrans, based in Hong Kong, has revenues of about $594 million.
   The acquisition 'is a key element of our Asian growth strategy and provides a global freight forwarding network from its strong Asian base,' said Paul Little, managing director of Toll.
   The deal would result in 20 percent of Toll's revenues coming from outside of Australia and New Zealand, excluding Toll's 62 percent interest in Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline. Media reports say Toll is mulling a full or partial sale of its interest in the airline that was started by British businessman Richard Branson.
   Anthony Lau, BALtrans' executive chairman, said he and two other founding shareholders have agreed to tender their shares to Toll, and believed 'Toll is an ideal owner of BALtrans to enhance its growth momentum, both regionally and globally strengthening the company’s position as a leading global freight forwarder.'
   BALtrans has its U.S. headquarters in Rosedale, N.Y., and offices in or near Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto.
   In November, reporting its results for the year ending July 31, BALtrans said its North America region’s revenue decreased 6 percent $86.5 million 'due to the loss of a major customer and a short-term phenomenon of substituting certain air freight cargo movement with sea freight transportation during the period under review.' It said earnings before interest, tax and amortization was $1.5 million because of those reasons, and start-up losses of a new Atlanta office and increased staff incentive costs in Canada.