Menzies Distribution sale taking longer than anticipated

The sale of Menzies Distribution is taking longer than anticipated, parent group John Menzies plc told shareholders in a trading update.

Last year, John Menzies held discussions with DX group with a view to a merger but talks were abandoned following opposition from DX’s principal shareholder.

John Menzies said at the time that it continued to believe there was potential shareholder value to be created by separating, at the appropriate time, its Aviation and Distribution divisions.

Following a review by NM Rothschild in November 2017, the Menzies Distribution business was put up for sale.

Menzies Distribution has a revenue of £1.2bn in 2017 with underlying operating profit of £24.8m. It provides final mile delivery for over 100 million delivery units each year serving customers in the press, travel and third-party logistics sectors.

In its latest trading update, the group said: “As detailed in our final results a sale process for Menzies Distribution is in progress, this process is taking longer than we anticipated but we remain fully engaged with a number of potential buyers.

“We remain hopeful that we will be able to reach a satisfactory conclusion and will update shareholders at the appropriate time.”