As the battle among major logistics players continues to rage on, with even Amazon reportedly set to join the mix, one more logistics company is seeking to expand its global fulfillment operations through acquisition. Bpost, a Belgium-based postal operator, has purchased Radial for $820 million from previous owner Sterling Partners.
Radial will be a huge asset for bpost as it aims to spread its influence into the U.S. and Europe and improve its cross-border package delivery speed.Radial already accounts for approximately 20% of all e-Commerce orders that flow between the U.S. and the European Union, giving bpost the chance to work with a much larger client base of large retailers and SMBs. And Radial’s operations extend across 24 fulfillment centers, with more than 306 million units fulfilled.
Retailers continue to pour money into fulfillment and logistics to compete with Amazon, which spent a whopping $4.57 billion on shipping costs and $5.16 billion on fulfillment costs in Q2 2017. With Amazon showing no intention of slowing down its supply chain investments, retailers turn to third-party platforms such as Radial when they don’t have the resources to handle fulfillment themselves.
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Additionally, Radial will expand bpost’s offerings with integrated services such as payment, tax and fraud protection services, fulfillment and customer care for brands and retailers.
Bpost already has an international division known as Landmark Global, which is designed to help online sellers reach more global customers.
The expected annual revenues of Radial for 2017 are forecasted to be between $970 million and $1,020 million, while expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization are forecasted to be between $65 million and $70 million.
Bpost presently takes in approximately $2.9 billion in annual revenue, and has been on an acquisition spree since 2016, buying a number of smaller freight and last-mile delivery companies in North America and Europe to expand its economies of scale. The companies include:
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Lagardère Travel Retail, a convenience store operator;
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DynaGroup, a logistical services and software provider;
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Bubble Post, an urban delivery platform;
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Matt’s Express and Apple Express, two Canadian courier companies; and
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Freight Distribution Management, an Australia-based warehousing and distribution customer service business.
The Radial acquisition is expected to close in Q4 2017 and will also include debt, according to a company statement.
