EXEL AND MSAS PARENT COMPANIES MERGE

EXEL AND MSAS PARENT COMPANIES MERGE    NFC plc, the parent company of international logistics operator Exel, and Ocean Group plc, the parent of global forwarding and logistics group MSAS Global Logistics, have announced an agreement to merge.
   The merged group, to be called Exel plc, will have combined annual revenues of '3.5 billion ($5.6 billion) and become one of the world’s largest logistics groups.
   The two British groups said that the merger will bring together the MSAS worldwide freight forwarding business and Exel’s strength in ground-based supply chain services.
   MSAS’s activities concentrate on the healthcare, fashion and technology business sectors, while Exel is active in the automotive, electronics, chemicals, consumer and retail sectors.
   The two companies said that the new Exel group will service about two thirds of the world’s 250 largest companies, excluding financial institutions.
   Under the merger agreement, Ocean Group will acquire the entire share capital of NFC on the basis of 0.2774 new ocean share for each NFC share.
   Ocean Group and NFC described the deal as a merger of equals, as shareholders of each group will hold about 50 percent of the share capital of the combined company.
   John Allan, chief executive of Ocean Group, will be chief executive of the merged company. Gerry Murphy, chief executive of NFC, will leave the group on completion of the merger.
   The two companies said that the new group will “take full advantage of the market for outsourced global logistics which is forecast to grow by 10 to 20 percent per annum.”
   The main services of MSAS Global Logistics are global and regional logistics management, added value logistics services and specialist mail and express services. NFC offers supply chain services in Europe, the Americas and Asia under the Exel name. NFC also owns the Merchant Home Delivery network of consumer goods in the U.S.