Kuehne + Nagel has agreed to sell a 24.9% equity stake in Apex International Corporation to Partners Group. Partners Group will join majority shareholder Kuehne + Nagel Group with a seat on the Apex Board, following the transaction.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, Apex is a freight forwarder focussed on transpacific and intra-Asia trade routes. The company has around 1,600 employees across 41 locations globally. In 2020, Apex generated a turnover of CHF*2.2bn, gross profit of CHF296m and earnings before taxes of CHF126m and ranked seventh in terms of global air freight forwarding volume.
Partners Group will work alongside K+N to implement a transformational value creation plan for Apex together with the company’s management team. K+N stated that key initiatives include establishing new freight forwarding routes, identifying new growth verticals such as healthcare; and M&A.
Partners Group is a global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested over $145bn in private equity, private real estate, private debt and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. The firm controls assets worth $109bn as of December 31, 2020. The firm employs more than 1,500 professionals across 20 offices worldwide.
Sheng Liu, Managing Director of Private Equity at Partners Group, said, “We started following the development of Apex after identifying it through our thematic investing approach several years ago. Apex benefits from the rise of cross-border e-commerce – a key transformative trend that has accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to working with K+N as well as Tony Song and his management team to realise this potential.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance by the competent merger control authorities. Apex will then continue to operate separately within the Kuehne + Nagel Group.
Source: Kuehne + Nagel
*CHF=€0.94/$1.05
