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As I ponder whether any freight forwarder – apart from Panalpina – could be poised for a change of ownership, more evidence emerges in the annual results of market leader DP-DHL that major asset-light logistics operators have arrived at a critical juncture.

Market conditions

Oh yes, I am looking forward to sifting through the full financial results of the German behemoth next week. But briefly, it is important to flag certain warning signs in its trading update, dated 8 March, which shows ...

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  • Jb

    March 11, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    This is the most impossible and unlikely merger. You’ve done much reading up on expeditors, but if you’ve paid attention to their 8ks, you’ll know that they are ‘not for sell’.

    • Ale Pasetti

      March 13, 2017 at 9:35 am

      Thanks for stopping by, jb.

      So, if you are referring to a takeover by DPDHL, we might well agree — “only circumstantial evidence indicates that DGF would be attracted to Expeditors,” I wrote.

      Everything is up for sale if the price is right, given the free float etc etc.

      • Scm

        May 01, 2017 at 4:24 am

        Hi Allesandro,

        I’m afraid you misunderstand the motivations that drive management behavior at Expeditors. Maximizing shareholder value by implementing policies to increase the share price is not their mindset or priority. The company exists to maximize profit-share payouts to branch operations leadership. The people running expd have little to no interest in striking M&A deals that would jeopardize that model.

        If there’s a proxy fight, management wins this one.

        Good, detailed, interesting article nonetheless, thank you for the good read.

        • Ale Pasetti

          May 03, 2017 at 5:23 am

          Scm,

          As I have acknowledged in several articles, I am aware management is not interested in M&A.

          “Maximizing shareholder value by implementing policies to increase the share price is not their mindset or priority.”

          Its recent share action proves you are right, given its near-4% drop, and the same holds true when you consider its 10-year performance, during which little value has been created ex dividends.

          EXPD will be sold eventually, and that is inevitable.

          Best,

          Ale