Kenya’s competition watchdog has approved “with conditions” the takeover of two specialist perishables forwarders in the African country by European logistics giants Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) and Panalpina.
The Competition Authority of Kenya has approved the acquisition of Air Connection by Panalpina Airflo, Panalpina Airflo and Panalpina Kenya, but ordered the acquirers to retain at least 95% of the employees of Air Connection for at least one year after the transaction's completion date.
The competition authority has imposed a similar condition on K+N’s takeover of Trillvane Ltd, again stating that the purchasers “shall retain employees of the Trillvane for at least one year after the date of completion of the transaction”.
When Panalpina announced its Air Connection deal, chief executive Stefan Karlenstated: “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.
“Air Connection is specialised 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 perishables air freight per year.”
Source: aircargonews.net
