International freight company Panalpina to aquire Air Connection

International freight forwarding and logistics company Panalpina is to acquire Air Connection, a Kenya-based forwarder specialized in the export of flowers and vegetables. The move comes after Panalpina’s acquisition of Airflo in Kenya in 2016 and only two weeks after the company formally announced the launch of its global Perishables Network. The companies reached a respective agreement on May 2, 2017.

“The acquisition of Air Connection will strengthen our existing global Perishables Network and our position as the clear market leader in the perishables arena in Kenya,” says Stefan Karlen, Panalpina’s CEO.

Air Connection is specialized in the export of flowers and vegetables from Kenya to multiple destinations including the Netherlands and the UK, and is currently the country’s fourth largest forwarder in terms of air freight export volumes. The merged company will handle around 70,000 tons of perishable air freight per year.

The activities of Panalpina and Air Connection in Kenya complement each other, the Air Connection's owner says. “While most of Panalpina’s flower exports from Kenya currently go to auctions in Amsterdam, we are specialized in direct shipments to customers,” says Manjit Brar, owner and managing director of Air Connection. “And while Panalpina is strong with big charter shipments from Kenya to Europe, our strength lies in smaller shipments on scheduled passenger flights to over 150 destinations worldwide.”

The companies have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the deal. The acquisition is subject to approvals by the relevant competition authorities.

source: panalpina.com