German freight forwarding unicorn Sennder is on a roll. The corporate stated on Tuesday that it’s buying the European floor transportation belongings of logistics large C.H. Robinson in an all-cash deal. It didn’t disclose the monetary phrases of the deal, however a supply near the corporate advised TechCrunch it’s comparable in worth to Sennder’s 2020 acquisition of Uber’s European freight enterprise.
That deal was an all-stock transaction and rumored to be value round €900 million on the time.
C.H. Robinson is estimated to be the second-biggest logistics supplier globally after Amazon, and its market cap is presently over $10 billion. The acquisition is anticipated to double Sennder’s annual income to €1.4 billion (which means it’s presently seeing revenues of €700 million, and so is the operation it’s shopping for). The mixed enterprise can have 1,700 staff throughout 20 markets, placing Sennder among the many prime 5 firms working within the so-called “full truck load” companies in Europe.
Notably, that is the second scoop that Sennder is taking out of C.H. Robinson’s enterprise: In Might it poached the larger firm’s head of engineering, Kollen Glynn, as its new CTO.
Sennder has additionally made different acquisitions to develop its fleet and total footprint. In 2021, it acquired Vehicles&Cargo out of The Netherlands, additionally for an undisclosed worth.
Each of these acquisitions had been enjoying out at a time when e-commerce, and the broader know-how market, had been hitting high-water marks. The unfold of COVID-19 stored customers working at residence and staying on-line extra, which brought about them to purchase items and companies on-line as a substitute of in individual.
All of that additionally contributed to 2 fundraises for Sennder in fast succession: It raised $160 million in January 2021, and one other $80 million in June 2021 at a valuation of over $1 billion.
Many sectors in tech, together with e-commerce, at the moment are working in leaner circumstances, which makes Sennder’s newest acquisition all of the extra fascinating. It does underscore the larger consolidation play that we’ve got been monitoring throughout a number of sectors, the place firms with the money (or coveted shares) to spare are snapping up belongings to get higher economies of scale. In the meantime, others are working to downsize (and dump belongings) to scale back operational prices as they concentrate on their core operations.
The deal is anticipated to shut in This autumn 2024, following regulatory approval. We perceive that one other fundraise is likely one of the “strategic choices” Sennder is exploring although it won’t appear like a basic enterprise fundraise. Sennder’s present traders embody Baillie Gifford, Hedosophia, Accel, Lakestar, HV Capital, Mission A and Scania.
“As of right now, we don’t want one other spherical of financing in the interim,” David Nothacker, CEO and co-founder of Sennder, advised TechCrunch. “Nevertheless, with our new measurement, utterly completely different alternatives are rising, which we might be exploring within the coming months. We need to hold investing, we need to continue to grow, we’ve got massive plans.”
“This acquisition might be pivotal in advancing Sennder’s roadmap. With its imaginative and prescient to speed up world commerce to ship merchandise and items that drive the world’s economic system, C.H. Robinson aligns strongly with sennder’s mission and values to create an environment friendly and sustainable highway freight community in Europe,” Nothacker stated in a press release. “We’re deeply impressed by the European Floor Transportation staff from C.H. Robinson, and with our mixed enterprise and enhanced expertise pool, we are able to ship substantial development and operational scale, accelerating our European enlargement and rising community density and digital capabilities for the good thing about carriers, shippers, and the broader business. We’re excited to welcome the EST staff, and embark on the subsequent chapter of sennder’s journey.”
This story was up to date with a further remark from the CEO on Sennder’s fundraising plans.