CMA - COMMENT

CMA CGM is negotiating the €5bn purchase of Bollore’s remaining Logistics assets. CMA CGM's strategy of collecting logistics assets continues. The Bollore business will fit in the CEVA Logistics silo and push CMA CGM further into the client's logistics chains. Internal resources at CMA CGM are sufficient to complete the acquisition. The Bollore business would also be sellable if CMA CGM needed cash as freight rates languish. The Bollore acquisition is a slight departure from other logistics purchases as the value is driven more by the management of high-value cargo than owning the assets. Assets are skewed to warehouses/offices and IT systems rather than ships and aircraft. Bollore Logistics has no public debt, but there will be some internal loans. In the recent €5.7bn sale of Bollore Africa Logistics, there were €600m of internal payables repaid.