MSC gets closer to acquiring Bolloré's transport and logistics assets

Logistics

Wednesday, 22 December 2021 10:00

MSC gets closer to acquiring Bolloré's transport and logistics assets

(Togo First) - Bolloré Group will sell its transport and logistics unit in Africa to MSC by the end of March 2022. The French and Italian-Swiss groups reached a first agreement on the firm’s value. "The Bolloré Group has granted exclusivity to the MSC Group until March 31, 2022, so that the latter can, at the end of an additional audit phase and contractual negotiations, give it, if necessary, a promise to purchase," the group recently wrote in a statement. For now, the deal is valued at $5.7 billion.

As Vincent Bolloré, founder of the eponymous group prepares to leave the business world next year, the changes in the group take place in a context where its activities in Africa have been drawing critics, mainly due to a growing anti-French sentiment.

While Bolloré group exits the transport and logistics sector in Africa, it plans to continue development in several sectors such as communication, entertainment, telecom, and publishing. The group, it should be noted, is the leading paid tv provider in French-speaking Africa and a major shareholder in Multichoice, the leader of the paid tv market in Anglophone Africa.

Lomé wins big

In Lomé, MSC operates the Lomé Container Terminal (LCT) via its subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL). LCT has made the port of Lomé one of the best in Africa and the world, regarding container traffic.

Besides Lomé, MSC is also present in Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan and San Pedro). However, the Togolese capital is the shipper’s hub in the region. It committed to investing up to $500 million in the platform by 2030.

Once the deal between Bolloré and MSC is sealed, Togo Terminal which is run by a French company's subsidiary, Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL), will be taken over by the Italian-Swiss group.

According to many observers, Bolloré's decision to pick MSC is sound considering that in the actual geopolitical context the other available options were either DP World (Dubaï) or Chinese firms.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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