CVC to buy Korean courier Logen from Baring Asia
CVC Capital Partners has agreed to buy Logen, South Korea’s leading courier company focused on small to mid-volume customers, from Baring Private Equity Asia.
The size of the deal was not disclosed, but local media reported it as approximately KRW300 billion ($270 million). Baring bought the business from Mirae Asset Private Equity - which had acquired it from conglomerate Eugene Corporation in 2010 - for KRW160 billion in August 2013.
Logen is the second-largest parcel delivery company in the country and the dominant player in the small-volume segment. It operates under an asset-light business model with a nationwide network of 410 agencies managing 7,500 truck drivers that handle 1.7 million packages per day. Gross revenue is expected to reach $563 million in 2016.
When Baring assumed ownership, there were 215 agencies and around 4,300 truck drivers, with more than 100 million parcels handled over the course of 2012. Last year, Logen bought a majority interest in domestic counterpart KGB Logistics.
"The growth of South Korea's e-commerce and online shopping industry has created significant growth opportunities for delivery companies. Logen, a leader in this field, has built up a loyal customer base during this growth period. We believe that, together with Logen's best-in-class management team, we will be able to further grow the company," Steve Lim, partner and chairman of CVC in Korea, said in a statement.
The private equity firm is currently investing its fourth pan-Asian fund, which closed in 2014 at the hard cap of $3.5 billion. Lim joined last year, having previously served as CEO and managing director of J.P. Morgan in South Korea.
The Logen deal represents the second time within 12 months that an asset has transferred between Baring and CVC. In December, Baring agreed to buy Singapore-listed precision engineering business Interplex Holdings after CVC and Standard Chartered Private Equity agreed to tender their combined 57.7% interest in the company.
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