Austrian Posts Parcel & Logistics Division gains foothold in Turkey
Austrian Post acquires 25 per cent-stake in Turkish parcel service provider Aras Kargo for EUR 50 million
Austrian Post has reached an agreement with the owners of the Turkish parcel service provider Aras Kargo to acquire a 25 per cent-stake in the company. 80 per cent of the shares are currently held by the company’s founders, the Aras family, and 20 per cent are owned by the stock listed Turkish company Is Private Equity. Provided that approval is granted by antitrust authorities and other various conditions are fulfilled, Austrian Post will acquire the 20 per cent-stake in Aras Kargo from Is Private Equity along with 5 per cent of the shares held by the Aras family. The purchase price for the 25 per cent-stake amounts to about EUR 50 million. Moreover, Austrian Post has a call option in 2016, entitling it to acquire a further 50 per cent-stake from the Aras family on the basis of Aras Kargo’s business results in 2015/16 and thus potentially increase its shareholding to 75 per cent.
Aras Kargo is one of the leading Turkish parcel service providers with annual revenue of approximately EUR 250 million, delivering some 46 million parcels and 32 million documents annually. The company has been operating in parcel business for more than 30 years, and has a market share of more than 25 per cent. In recent years, Aras Kargo has been able to disproportionately benefit from the growth of the Turkish market, achieving revenue growth rates surpassing 15 per cent p.a. EBITDA margin has been more than 10 per cent in the 2012 financial year. The company operates a nationwide network in Turkey, consisting of about800 shops, 28 distribution centres and 2,600 delivery vehicles, with a workforce of some 5,400 employees.
“Thanks to this acquisition we have entered the prospective growth market of Turkey, whose parcels market offers an enormous potential. As a leading logistics provider, Aras Kargo has an excellent track record in the Turkish market combined with a high level of service. For these reasons, Aras Kargo optimally fits in the portfolio of strategic shareholdings held by the Austrian Post Group”, states Austrian Post’s Chief Executive Officer Georg Pölzl.
“We are pleased to have attracted Austrian Post, a prominent European parcel service provider, to be our partner. We are convinced that Austrian Post, with its international and technological expertise, will support Aras Kargo in further expanding its strong market position. The clear objective is to become the number one provider in the Turkish parcels market”, says Evrim Aras, CEO of Aras Kargo.