Formerly known as CJ Korea Express, CJ Logistics said it has acquired a majority stake in two shipping and logistics subsidiaries under Vietnamese logistics company Gemadept Corp.
In a regulatory filing to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, CJ Logistics has completed the purchase of a 50.9 percent stake each in Gemadept Logistics Holding and Gemadept Shipping Holding, with both deals estimated to be worth 98.7 billion won (about US$85 million) .
CJ Logistics is the unit of Seoul-based food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group. A special purpose company composed of undisclosed financial investors will be set up by CJ to invest 70 percent in the latest acquisition.
The deals were made following the disclosure of CJ Logistics CEO Park Geun-tae earlier this year that the company was interested in acquiring logistics firm in Southeast Asia to become one of the top five global firms.
In recent years, CJ Group has acquired several Chinese and Southeast Asian logistics companies including Malaysia’s Century Logistics and China Shenzhen Speedex Commercial Service and Rokin Logistics, UAE’S Ibrakom, and India’s Darcl Logistics.
Founded in 1990 as a state-owned company, Gemadept is said to be the largest Vietnamese logistics firm and was among the earliest company to be privatized. It owns several subsidiaries in port operation, logistics, rubber plantations, and real estate.
In 2016, Gemadept posted US$162 million in revenue, with a 4 percent increment year-on-year while its pretax profit was down 5 percent to US$20 million. After restructuring and divestments, the company is currently looking for US$165 million in revenue and US$23.3 million in pre-tax profit.
