Disclaimer :

The Competition DG makes the information provided by the notifying parties in section 1.2 of Form CO available to the public in order to increase transparency. This information has been prepared by the notifying parties under their sole responsibility, and its content in no way prejudges the view the Commission may take of the planned operation. Nor can the Commission be held responsible for any incorrect or misleading information contained therein.

SECTION 1.2

Description of the concentration

3i Group plc (3i) intends to acquire sole control of ABX LOGISTICS Worldwide SA/NV and its subsidiaries (ABX) from SNCB Holding SA/NV (SNCB).

3i is a private equity and venture capital company, whose principal activities are making investments, providing management advice to and managing investments on behalf of investment funds. 3i is headquartered in London and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. 3i uses its international network to source and assess a wide range of investment opportunities. 3i focuses on buyouts, growth capital, venture capital and infrastructure investments. Geographically, most of its investments are in businesses based in Europe, although 3i has growing investment operations in the United States and Asia.

ABX is active in the transport sector and focuses on road, air and sea freight forwarding and contract logistics management. ABX has operations in over 30 countries and has a workforce of approximately 10,000 employees. ABX acts as a transport capacity broker in relation to airlines or shipping companies or independent road haulier sub-contractors. It offers services such as customs clearance, inventory control, order picking, groupage and collection and delivery of the goods at origin and destination. ABX also offers project logistics, which comprises shipment (mainly via seafreight) of complete installations or heavy loads from different departure points to a single destination where the plant and facilities are to be installed. ABX includes project logistics as part of the seafreight forwarding activity. In addition, ABX offers contract logistics solutions, including warehousing, inventory management, packaging and other services.

ABX is wholly owned by SNCB, the national Belgian railway company. SNCB is owned by the Belgian state.