Jacky Perrenot intends to acquire Agediss

On February 10, 2024, the French transport company Jacky Perrenot signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in the 2-man handling specialist Agediss. The Otto Group is thus continuing its process of realignment in the logistics sector in Europe.

"The merger of Jacky Perrenot and Agediss is a win-win situation for both companies. The takeover will enable them to complement each other perfectly in the future and, thanks to their combined size in the highly competitive and dynamic market environment of French logistics, to tap further growth potential on the international market," says Kay Schiebur, Otto Group Executive Board Member for Services.

Agediss, based in Les Essarts en Bocage, has been part of the Hermes Group since 2017 and is therefore an Otto Group company. With a turnover of almost 100 million euros, 35 branches, 300 vehicles specially equipped for the transport of furniture, large electrical appliances and heavy and sensitive goods and 76,000 square meters of storage capacity, Agediss is one of the leading 2-man handling specialists for commercial and private customers in France. Thanks to its strong network and decades of expertise, Agediss enjoys the trust of large, well-known companies.

"Agediss has already perfected its service offerings for its customers in recent years through its digitalization processes. For example, customers can select a specific delivery window at the time of purchase, track the progress of their order in real time and communicate with their delivery person via a smartphone app. I am particularly pleased that Jacky Perrenot intends to take over all of Agediss' approximately 530 employees in order to position itself as the leading provider in 2-man handling in France and Europe," explains Viviane Reichert-Brown, CEO Hermes France Holding SAS.

The Jacky Perrenot Group, founded in 1945 and based in Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse in the Drôme department, is the leading provider in the transport and logistics sector in France with a turnover of over one billion euros in 2022. The group operates mainly in the general cargo, container, logistics and door-to-door delivery segments and employs more than 10,000 people in 145 European branches. The Group has more than 6,000 trucks and has been actively involved in the energy transition since 2012. It offers its customers solutions for decarbonization. Thanks to this commitment, the Group now has the largest fleet of low-carbon vehicles on the market and thus makes a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector.

Jacky Perrenot has been pursuing an active expansion policy for several years - including at an international level, such as in Spain and Luxembourg. In the past three years, the transport service provider has made five acquisitions, including VIR in 2021, formerly one of Agediss' biggest competitors in France.

Philippe Givone, CEO of the Jacky Perrenot Group: "By acquiring the shares of Agediss, the Jacky Perrenot Group will become the clear market leader in the field of 2-man handling on the domestic market. We are thus underpinning our strategy of becoming the leading B2C player in Europe and cooperating on the German market with the Otto Group, with whom we share common values."

The takeover is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.