Substantial research has shown that less than half of all
mergers and acquisitions generate the benefits that were
expected by management. Why is that the case? If the
responses we have received to that question in our annual
surveys over the past 21 years are any indication, the following post-acquisition challenges commonly experienced
by 3PLs are often to blame.
Leadership changes. Large-scale M/A transactions fre-
quently are accompanied by top-level management reor-
ganizations, and executives who have guided the acquired
company may leave the combined enterprise. That is
disconcerting to other executives who might have been
recruited by those individuals. They may consider leaving
as well. If the exodus of management talent is too extensive,
there is a real risk that the loss of intellectual capital will
hinder the future operations of the company. It is incum-
bent upon the acquiring company to make identifying,
reassuring, and retaining key individuals an early and very
important priority.
Employee morale. An acquisition may create redundancy
of employees at many levels of an organization. It takes
considerable time and skill to “rightsize” the employment
base of these companies while doing as little harm as possible to employee morale. Outplacement services and separation packages can provide some relief, but the fear of being
“downsized” often leads employees who have the greatest
Announcement Date
October 9, 2015
September 9, 2015*
August 17, 2015**
July 31, 2015***
April 28, 2015
April 7, 2015
March 23, 2015
February 17, 2015
July 31, 2014****
April 1, 2014
January 6, 2014
Acquiring Company
DSV
XPO Logistics
Geodis SA (owned by
French railway SNCF)
UPS
XPO Logistics
Federal Express
Penske
Kintetsu World Express
(Japan)
Norbert Dentressangle
(France)
Federal Express
XPO Logistics
Acquisition
UTi Worldwide
Con-way
OHL (owned by private
equity firm)
Coyote Logistics
Norbert Dentressangle
(France)
TNT Express (Netherlands)
Transfreight
APL Logistics (Singapore)
Jacobson Companies
(owned by private equity)
Genco
Pacer International
Estimated Acquisition
Cost (US $)
$1.35 billion
$3.0 billion
$800 million
$1.8 billion
$3.53 billion
$4.8 billion
Private transaction;
no terms announced
$1.2 billion
$750 million
$1.4 billion
$335 million
*Acquisition involves Con-way Freight, Menlo Logistics, Con-way Truckload, and Con-way Multimodal. All will be rebranded as XPO Logistics.
**The company is being sold by the private equity company Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and Hyde Park Holdings, LLC.
***The company is being sold by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
**** The company was sold by Oak Hill Capital Partners.
SOURCE: COMPANY AND NEWS REPORTS
Core Business
Non-asset-based
international logistics,
freight forwarding, and
customs brokerage
Less-than-truckload (LTL),
truckload (TL), and 3PL
services
Value-added warehousing
Non-asset-based truckload
(TL) carrier and freight
brokerage
Contract logistics, global
freight forwarding,
brokerage, and
transportation management
European package delivery
Automotive 3PL services
Global logistics services/
ocean focus
Value-added warehousing
Product lifecycle management and reverse logistics
Intermodal services,
including U.S.-Mexico
EXHIBIT 1
Major acquisitions by large third-party logistics companies (3PLs), 2014–2015
