APL LOGISTICS ACQUIRES GATX LOGISTICS

INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT CHANGES NAME    APL Logistics, the international logistics arm of Singapore-headquartered Neptune Orient Lines group, has acquired GATX Logistics, Inc., for $210 million.
   The purchase of the large Jacksonville, Fla.-based contract logistics firm is the first logistics takeover at APL Logistics since it announced a growth-oriented policy of acquisitions and joint ventures last year.
   “The U.S.$210-million acquisition increases APL Logistics’ revenues by 70 percent, or over $300 million,” a spokesman for APL said. In 1999, APL Logistics had revenues of $372 million.
   APL said that GATX Logistics is the second largest warehouse-based contract logistics company in the United States and one of the top logistics players throughout North and South America.
   APL acquired GATX Logistics from financial firms Oak Hill Capital Partners L.P. and Stephens Group, Inc. Oak Hill Capital Partners and Stephens Group had bought GATX Logistics from Chicago-based GATX Corp. last May.
   Oak Hill Capital Partners said that it received several unsolicited proposals from a number of parties for a takeover after its May 2000 acquisition, “illustrating the rapidly consolidating dynamics of the logistics industry.”
   “This is an excellent example of the type of acquisition that fits our aggressive growth plans,” said Dick Metzler, chief executive officer of APL Logistics.
   “GATX Logistics manages distribution from their warehouses to the final outlet for clients, which completes the global supply chain for APL Logistics and adds to our ‘menu’ of services,” he added. This means, for example, Mr. Metzler said, that a toy retailer with both Internet and traditional store sales will have visibility of their products right from their factory in China to the store or to the customer’s door.
   Pointing to expected synergies between APL Logistics and the new acquisition, APL Logistics said that it will adopt GATX Logistics’ warehouse management system and save on investment in this field. APL Logistics also said that its emphasis on e-commerce is mirrored at GATX Logistics. In early 2000, GATX Logistics launched GATX eLogistics, an e-fulfillment services company.
   Flemming R. Jacobs, president and CEO of the NOL group, described the GATX Logistics acquisition as “just the beginning.”
   “APL Logistics has now begun to realize the plans developed from the studies we commissioned when we turned our attention to accelerating the growth of APL Logistics after setting right the fundamentals of the liner business,” he said.
   NOL, whose main business is container shipping, expects APL Logistics to expand its revenues at more than its organic growth rate of 20 percent a year, through joint ventures, acquisitions and partnerships.
   GATX Logistics operates approximately 21 million square feet of warehousing in the Americas. GATX Logistics has 3,000 employees and a comprehensive distribution network throughout the continental U.S., Mexico, Canada and Central and South America. The company’s services include logistics management, contract warehousing, manufacturing support, freight management, dedicated contract carriage, returns management, custom packaging, electronic commerce, and technological support.
   The president and chief executive officer of GATX Logistics is Joseph A. Nicosia.
   APL said that the GATX Logistics name will be replaced by that of APL Logistics over the next six months.
   The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter.