DC Velocity - October 2012

C.H. Robinson buys Phoenix International

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said it will acquire Phoenix International Inc., an international freight forwarder and customs broker, for $635 million in cash and stock. The transaction greatly expands Robinson’s presence in the global trade and transport arena.

Under the deal, Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Robinson will buy Chicago-based Phoenix for $571.5 million in cash and $63.5 million in newly issued Robinson stock. The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, is the largest in Robinson’s 107-year history.

Robinson, the nation’s largest truck broker and a major domestic third-party logistics service provider (3PL), is a relatively minor player in the international marketplace. The company’s existing global forwarding business accounts for only 8 percent of its transportation net revenue, according to information on its website. Transportation net revenue, defined as revenue after the cost of buying transportation services, totaled $736.2 million for the first half of 2012.

“We see significant long-term opportunity in international forwarding as global trade expands and shippers increasingly look to transportation providers to provide global services,” John Wiehoff, Robinson’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement announcing the transaction.

Founded in 1979, privately held
Phoenix operates out of 76 offices in 15
countries, providing air and ocean
freight forwarding and customs broker-
age services to about 15,000 customers.
In its fiscal year ending June 30, Phoenix
reported gross revenues—revenues
before the cost of buying transportation
services—of $807 million. Net revenue
was $161 million in that period.

I know your shipments.
I know
the lanes.
We know what it takes
to get it there
next- day.

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