AN IRISH FREIGHT forwarding firm is being acquired by a German logistics services giant.

Germany’s Rhenus announced that it will buy Dublin-based Avant Air and Sea, which was founded in 1990 and has operations in Shanghai and Hong Kong. No financial terms for the buyout were disclosed.

The Irish company provides services to the logistics and pharma industries and specialises in pharmaceutical shipments and loads that are hazardous and require temperature control.

It also develops IT solutions for the industry such as software tools for managing and tracking shipments across the supply chain and meeting reporting requirements.

The deal, which was carried out by the Irish subsidiary of the German company, is awaiting approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Under the terms of the deal, the Irish company will now operate under the name of Avant Rhenus. The Rhenus Group employs 29,000 people globally with an annual turnover of €4.8 billion. The group has had a presence in Ireland for 30 years.

It marks another acquisition for Rhenus, which recently acquired C. Spaarmann Logistics, another forwarding firm from Germany.

Future growth

Avant’s managing director David Warren said the deal will allow the company “to continue developing our services for our existing and future customers due to (Rhenus’s) global network and its comprehensive expertise”.

Rhenus managing director for Rhenus Air and Ocean Europe Jörn Schmersahl added that Avant’s air and sea freight business will bolster Rhenus’s own business in this sector.

“Avant Air and Sea is a company with a strong focus on customer relations as well as providing important services for the air and sea freight sector and it will make an important contribution to the ongoing growth of the Rhenus Group,” he said.

Avant Air and Sea employed an average of 21 staff during 2016, according to its most recent public accounts, while it delivered a profit of €546,000 that year.

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Written by Jonathan Keane and posted on Fora.ie