Shipping giant MSC in talks to buy Bolloré Logistic's Africa unit at $6.bn

Bollore Transport and Logistics Limited Officials with journalists at the Port of Mombasa on March 29, 2018, during the flagging off of a full freight Standard Gauge Railway train to be transported from Mombasa to Nairobi Container Terminal at Embakasi. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

By ANTHONY KITIMO

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The global shipping line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), seeks to diversify its activities further to include overland transportation, logistics and a growing

portfolio of port terminal investments by acquiring Bolloré Africa logistics business unit.

The Bolloré Group is holding talks with container shipping giant MSC over the sale of its African logistics division valued at $6.4 billion.

MSC Group, a Swiss-Italian container shipping line, was offered the African assets of the ​logistics unit of Bolloré, a company founded by the family of French billionaire Vincent Bolloré.

“Bolloré Group has granted the MSC Group an exclusivity until March 31, 2022 to enable MSC, further to an additional due diligence phase and contractual negotiations, to submit a put option,” the company said.

A put option contract gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a certain amount of the underlying asset, at a set price within a specific time.

​“The Bolloré Group’s decision to exercise this put option and the signature of the relevant agreements may only take place after the employee representative bodies have been informed and consulted and certain internal reorganisation operations have been carried out within the Bolloré Group,” the company said in a statement.