HSF Logistics Group is now part of DFDS
In January 2021, DFDS signed an agreement with the owners of HSF Logistics Group, one of Europe’s leading cold chain logistics providers, to acquire the shares in the company. On 14 September, the two companies completed the transaction of shares to make HSF Logistics Group a part of DFDS.
On 6 September, all relevant authorities approved the acquisition, and DFDS is pleased to announce that, on 14 September, the deal was finalised.
“I am very pleased to welcome all HSF employees to the DFDS Group. Our customer offering to a wide range of food producers is now enhanced significantly. Our dialogue since agreeing to join forces in January, has confirmed this is a great match”, says Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.
HSF Logistics Group operates around 700 trucks and 1,700 reefer trailers, including both owned and leased units. The company operates from 22 locations across Europe, including key distribution and storage centres in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark as well as office in China. The HSF Logistics Group has an annual revenue of approximately DKK 2.8bn and EBITDA of DKK 385m.
The acquisition of HSF Logistics Group is aligned with DFDS’ Win23 strategy of growing solutions to select industries, including the cold chain logistics industry. Following the acquisition, the revenue of DFDS’ Logistics Division is set to exceed DKK 8bn with EBITDA of around DKK 900m (before synergies).
With a combined fleet of 1,350 trucks and over 8,000 trailers supported by an integrated ferry infrastructure in Europe and Turkey, our combined company will be able to offer our joint customer network and new markets a unique service with efficient road and ferry transportation.
Integration and management
Martin Gade Gregersen, former CEO of HSF Logistics Group, is appointed Head of Cold Chain in DFDS. He is also appointed a member of DFDS’ Executive Management Team (EMT).
As of today, the Logistics Division is reorganised in two business areas: Dry Goods and Cold Chain. Cold chain activities in DFDS will be merged with cold chain activities from HSF Logistics Group. DFDS’ other logistics activities make up the Dry Goods business area.
The majority of the integration is expected to be completed within a year, except for the IT integration that is expected to take longer to complete. No material integration costs are expected.
Annual financial integration synergies, mainly from operation, procurement and process integration, are targeted to amount to around DKK 75m with a full run-rate impact from the end of 2023. Some of the impact is expected to be reported in the Ferry Division.
For more information about the acquisition, please see the company announcement.