German freight forwarding unicorn Sennder is on a roll. The corporate stated on Tuesday that it’s buying the European floor transportation belongings of logistics big C.H. Robinson in an all-cash deal. It didn’t disclose the monetary phrases of the deal, however a supply near the corporate informed TechCrunch it’s related in worth to Sennder’s 2020 acquisition of Uber’s European freight enterprise.
That deal was an all-stock transaction and rumored to be value round €900 million on the time.
C.H. Robinson is estimated to be the second-biggest logistics supplier globally after Amazon, and its market cap is presently over $10 billion. The acquisition is predicted to double Sennder’s annual income to €1.4 billion (which means it’s presently seeing revenues of €700 million, and so is the operation it’s shopping for). The mixed enterprise could have 1,700 workers throughout 20 markets, placing Sennder among the many high 5 firms working within the so-called “full truck load” providers in Europe.
Notably, that is the second scoop that Sennder is taking out of C.H. Robinson’s enterprise: In Might it poached the larger firm’s head of engineering, Kollen Glynn, as its new CTO.
Sennder has additionally made different acquisitions to broaden its fleet and total footprint. In 2021, it acquired Vehicles&Cargo out of The Netherlands, additionally for an undisclosed value.
Each of these acquisitions have been enjoying out at a time when e-commerce, and the broader expertise market, have been hitting high-water marks. The unfold of COVID-19 saved customers working at dwelling and staying on-line extra, which induced them to purchase items and providers on-line as an alternative of in individual.
All of that additionally contributed to 2 fundraises for Sennder in fast succession: It raised $160 million in January 2021, and one other $80 million in June 2021 at a valuation of over $1 billion.
Many sectors in tech, together with e-commerce, are actually working in leaner circumstances, which makes Sennder’s newest acquisition all of the extra attention-grabbing. It does underscore the larger consolidation play that now we have been monitoring throughout a number of sectors, the place firms with the money (or coveted shares) to spare are snapping up belongings to get higher economies of scale. In the meantime, others are working to downsize (and unload belongings) to cut back operational prices as they give attention to their core operations.
The deal is predicted to shut in This fall 2024, following regulatory approval. We perceive that one other fundraise is without doubt one of the “strategic choices” Sennder is exploring though it may not appear to be a basic enterprise fundraise. Sennder’s present traders embrace Baillie Gifford, Hedosophia, Accel, Lakestar, HV Capital, Undertaking A and Scania.
“As of as we speak, we don’t want one other spherical of financing in the intervening time,” David Nothacker, CEO and co-founder of Sennder, informed TechCrunch. “Nevertheless, with our new dimension, utterly completely different alternatives are rising, which we will likely be exploring within the coming months. We wish to preserve investing, we wish to continue to grow, now we have huge plans.”
“This acquisition will likely be pivotal in advancing Sennder’s roadmap. With its imaginative and prescient to speed up international commerce to ship merchandise and items that drive the world’s economic system, C.H. Robinson aligns strongly with sennder’s mission and values to create an environment friendly and sustainable street freight community in Europe,” Nothacker stated in a press release. “We’re deeply impressed by the European Floor Transportation group from C.H. Robinson, and with our mixed enterprise and enhanced expertise pool, we will ship substantial progress and operational scale, accelerating our European enlargement and growing community density and digital capabilities for the good thing about carriers, shippers, and the broader trade. We’re excited to welcome the EST group, and embark on the following chapter of sennder’s journey.”
This story was up to date with a further remark from the CEO on Sennder’s fundraising plans.