CMA CGM No Longer Interested in Acquiring Wincanton

French shipping company CMA CGM has withdrawn its attempt to acquire British logistics company Wincanton, conceding to a competing bid from another firm.

On Tuesday, CMA CGM's subsidiary, CEVA Logistics, announced it would not raise its bid after being surpassed by American warehousing company GXO Logistics.

The previous week, GXO, which owns Clipper Logistics, offered 605 pence per share for Wincanton, significantly higher than CEVA Logistics' latest raised offer of 480 pence per share, marking an increase of over 25%.

In the same timeframe, Wincanton, which is listed in London, favored the $965 million proposal from GXO, moving away from its earlier acceptance of CEVA's proposal.

Led by Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM, which had just finalized the acquisition of Bolloré Logistics for $5.25 billion, initially approached Wincanton on January 19 with an offer of 450 pence per share. This represented a 52% premium over the stock's price the day before the offer, whereas GXO's offer was at a 104% premium to Wincanton's share price at the end of that day.

The takeover of Wincanton would have marked a significant expansion of CMA CGM's logistics segment, aligning with the company's strategic goal to enhance its presence in the global logistics sector, particularly within the UK.

CMA CGM had until the end of the next business day to respond to GXO's proposal but chose to let its bid for Wincanton expire, likely paving the way for GXO to finalize the acquisition.

CMA CGM stated, “As a global leader, CMA CGM will continue deploying its growth roadmap, leveraging its clear business strategy and very robust balance sheet, while always maintaining a clear focus on value creation with financial discipline in any acquisition.”