FINLAND’s Nurminen Logistics has acquired Swedish logistics company Essinge Rail. Nurminen says the deal will transform it into a significant player in the growing rail freight operations market both within the Nordic countries and on routes to continental Europe.
The SKr 150m ($US 13.7m) transaction, announced on November 11, is structured as a mixture of cash and shares. Financial close is expected in December after regulatory approval has been granted.
Nurminen says the acquisition aligns with its “broader growth and internationalisation strategy,” and will enhance its service portfolio and competitiveness in Sweden and Finland by enabling it to offer “the most comprehensive” rail services in northern Europe.
Specifically, the acquisition enables Nurminen to extend its established rail routes in Sweden, such as from Haparanda, Umeå and Sundsvall to Gothenburg, and add new routes. Essinge’s network also covers Germany while the company, which was founded in 2006, has a presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Austria and Italy.
“This will open up even better opportunities for Finnish and Swedish companies to utilise low-emission rail transport in the Nordic countries and Central Europe," says Nurminen Logistics CEO, Mr Olli Pohjanvirta. “Our range of services to customers is growing and we offer a logistics pipeline from the Nordic countries all the way to Asia or America.”
In addition, Nurminen will benefit from access to Essinge Rail’s extensive less-than-container-load (LCL) services, which it says are attractive to smaller businesses seeking to benefit from low-emission rail transport.
"We believe that the user base of the railway service will grow to thousands of companies in the next few years," Pohjanvirta says.
