DB Schenker to buy Romanian forwarder Romtrans

DB Schenker to buy Romanian forwarder Romtrans Germany’s DB Schenker has today submitted an offer for all the shares in Romania’s largest freight forwarding company, S.C. Romtrans S.A.
   No financial details of the deal were disclosed, but early reports estimate a price tag of 80 million to 100 million euros (about $118 million to $148 million).
   The deadline for the takeover bid, made through Austrian subsidiary Schenker & Co AG., is the end of October. Schenker hopes to complete the transaction by December.
   Based in Bucharest, the previously state-owned Romtrans was privatized in 1994 and now has annual revenue of about 90 million euros ($133 million) and about 1,500 employees. It has nine branch offices in Romania as well as sales companies in Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, Hungary, Moldavia and Georgia. The company provides intermodal products in the land, air and ocean freight sectors as well as rail forwarding and customs clearance services. It also operates a multimodal transportation location at the Black Sea port of Constanta.
   “The planned takeover of Romtrans gives us a unique opportunity to strengthen our activities in southeastern Europe substantially and to integrate the local resources of Romtrans in the DB Schenker international network. This closes a further gap in our transportation and logistics network and meets the requirements of our customers, global players who can choose from our constantly expanding range of trans-European products,” said DB Schenker Chairman Norbert Bensel, member of the Deutsche Bahn management board for transportation and logistics.
   “Romania is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the European Union. We wish to participate in that market growth and exploit the potential for new custom by being right there on the spot.”
   DB Schenker has operated through its own national subsidiary in Romania since 1992.