Bolloré abandons one of its historic sectors with the sale of its logistics activities in Africa – La Tribune.fr

It is a 36-year-old page that is turning for the Bolloré group. The latter has just confirmed its withdrawal from transport infrastructure in Africa with the sale of its subsidiary Bolloré Africa Logistics. In exclusive negotiations since the end of 2021 with the MSC Group (Mediterranean Shipping Company, world leader in container transport by volume) for the sale of all the capital, the group now headed by Cyrille Bolloré announced the signing of an agreement on March 31, a few hours before the deadline. The amount of the transaction is valued at 5.7 billion euros. With this sale, Bolloré is thus releasing an impressive integrated logistics and transport network, which it claims is the first in Africa with a presence in 42 African ports, the operation of 23 terminals and three rail concessions, as well than 2 shipyards and road infrastructure. Bolloré Africa Logistics has no less than 250 subsidiaries across the continent and employs more than 20,000 people. After a decline in 2020, the activity of Bolloré Africa Logistics picked up again in 2021 to reach a turnover of 2.3 billion euros. This is 93% of the pre-crisis level. The group does not communicate on the profitability of its future ex-subsidiary, but on all of its logistics activities, which show an operating margin of almost 10%, equivalent to that of 2019. According to AFP, the group’s logistics activities in Africa would be more profitable than the others internationally (Bolloré Logistics) despite a lower volume. The sale must now be validated by the various competition authorities concerned. The finalization of the transaction is expected by the end of the 1st quarter of 2023. Logistics in Africa: Bolloré shares soar following the takeover offer of MSC Mutation suffered or desired? The sale of Bolloré Africa Logistics is part of the group’s transformation strategy, of which Vincent Bolloré entrusted the reins to his son Cyrille in 2019. This breaks with the development process on the African continent launched in 1986 with the takeover from Suez Scac (Commercial company for chartering and fuel), whose subsidiary Socopao (Commercial company for the ports of West Africa) is established in Senegal. It is one of the first acquisitions of Vincent Bolloré, which will make it one of its trademarks. Others will follow, in particular to strengthen the presence of the group on the continent, contributing largely to the fortune of the leader. Behind this strategic shift, several reasons can be seen. As AFP notes, Bolloré is faced with increasingly costly investments in Africa and growing competition from Chinese operators. But, above all, to several legal cases, including corruption scandals in Togo and Guinea for which French justice accuses the group of having provided assistance for electoral campaigns in exchange for the allocation of port concessions in these two countries . Togo / Guinea: after Vincent Bolloré, his group indicted for corruption The group also agreed last year to pay a fine of 12 million euros to French justice and to be followed by the French Agency anti-corruption, but the case was sent back to the investigation following the refusal of a judge to approve the prior admission of guilt accepted by Vincent Bolloré and two other officials. Media and editorial shift The Bolloré Group nonetheless asserts that it “will retain a significant presence in Africa, particularly through Canal+”. According to a press release, it states that it “will also continue its developments on this continent in many sectors such as communication, entertainment, telecoms and publishing”. Concentration of the media: Vincent Bolloré assures that he does “no politics” The bicentenary company will therefore refocus a little more around its communication pole. This has become the group’s main source of income since 2017, with the takeover of Vivendi (up to 20% of the capital at the time, nearly 30% now). Two large-scale operations are also in progress: first of all the conduct of a public takeover bid (OPA) on the Lagardère group via Vivendi. Under the watchful eye of Vincent Bolloré, this operation described as “friendly” could lead to the creation of a media and publishing giant, with in particular the merger of Lagardère Publishing and Editis. The other major movement is the sale of Universal Music Group (UMG), described as the group’s cash cow, and of which Bolloré controls 28% via various holdings. Who are the Apontes, the family in exclusive negotiations for the takeover of Bolloré Africa Logistics? The rising family group For its part, MSC continues to develop. Originally a shipowner, the Italian-Swiss group operates 560 container ships and 23 cruise ships (via its subsidiary MSC Cruises). Created by the Aponte family in 1970, it has gradually diversified into land transport, logistics and the operation of terminals. On this last point, MSC claims the 6th largest portfolio in the world via its subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), with 54 container terminals. This diversification could continue in the air sector: associated with the German group Lufthansa, MSC is in negotiations for the acquisition of a stake in the Italian public airline company ITA Airways, which replaced Alitalia last year. The two partners did not reveal the share of the capital they coveted, indicating only that they wanted “that the Italian government retain a minority stake”. In all, the MSC group has more than 100,000 employees for a turnover of around 25 billion euros. Leo Barnier 01 Apr 2022, 17:16