DSV Panalpina expands in Africa with another acquisition

DSV Panalpina is expanding its presence in Africa with the acquisition of Globeflight Worldwide Express, a South Africa-based courier company .

As part of the acquisition, which is expected to close in around three months subject to regulatory approvals, DSV Panalpina will take over all of Globeflight’s operations in South Africa and Swaziland.

When the deal is complete, Globeflight customers will benefit from services offered by all three of DSV’s divisions in South Africa — Air & Sea, Road and Solutions — all of which will be moving to the flagship DSV Park | Gauteng near O.R Tambo International Airport in South Africa in the new year.

DSV said transaction is consistent with its global strategy of growth through acquisition and Keith Pienaar, chief executive of DSV South Africa, is “very content” with the new capabilities that the acquisition will bring.

“This transaction will strengthen DSV’s presence in the express and small parcel sector,” said Pienaar. “It will leverage the investment DSV has made in infrastructure and systems, so we’re looking very much forward to welcoming Globeflight to DSV Panalpina.”

He added: “We are culturally well suited in that we are both performance-driven and customer-centric in our approach and the client fit is complementary and provides room to grow.

“DSV’s courier business typically centres on larger clients, while Globeflight’s strength is in the express and small parcel sector with a particular emphasis in the critical small parcel B2B market.”

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Globeflight serves more than 8,000 clients and delivers items from educational supplies to IT and medical equipment. 

Its fleet of 420 vehicles operates daily, helping to carry out nearly 330,000 deliveries each month.

Eddie Meyer, founder and chief executive of Globeflight said: “We are extremely pleased that DSV Panalpina recognises our strengths and abilities in the small parcel and express freight forwarding sector.

“The envisioned synergy between DSV Panalpina and our award-winning team will create a dynamic bouquet of service offerings to logistics consumers.

“We feel the acquisition provides a unique opportunity to link our express focus and mindset with DSV’s impressive global network and diverse services, hereby creating a solution that clients have been looking for.”

In August last year, DSV announced the completion of its acquisition of Panalpina in a deal worth $5.5bn and resulting in the creation of the second-largest airfreight provider in the world (behind DHL).