Copenhagen, 19 February 2020 – A.P. Moller – Maersk announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Performance Team, a US-based warehousing and distribution company, to further strengthen its capabilities as an integrated container logistics company, offering end-to-end supply chain solutions to its customers. As a leader in North America Warehousing & Distribution, Performance Team specializes in B2B and B2C distribution solutions within retail, wholesale and e-commerce with 24 warehousing sites. It has a track record of profitable growth of 17% per year for the last four years, and revenue for 2019 of USD 525m.
“With this acquisition we invest in premium operational capabilities to significantly boost our existing Warehousing & Distribution offering. This will strengthen our ability to deliver products and solutions that meet our customers’ end-to-end supply chain needs. With its strong platform, Performance Team is a good match for A.P. Moller – Maersk as they complement our current Warehousing & Distribution proposition to customers in North America and will enable future growth,” said Vincent Clerc, CEO of Ocean & Logistics at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Maersk is targeting the Warehousing & Distribution component to offer more supply chain options and flexibility to its Ocean customers. The global size of the Warehousing & Distribution sector is estimated at more than USD 200bn and for North America it is USD 50bn. There is a significant growth opportunity for 3rd party Warehousing & Distribution players as only a small part of the Warehousing & Distribution sector in North America is currently outsourced and e-commerce is growing 12% annually.
“We are going all the way for our customers, offering new ways to optimize their supply chains, grow their e-commerce business and find warehouses and distribution options. Performance Team’s expertise, market reputation and scalability will create significant performance gains for our customers that grow and complement our existing Maersk Warehousing & Distribution product in North America. We are especially excited to strengthen our e-commerce fulfillment capabilities since many of our retailers are looking to grow online retail sales in 2020 and beyond,” said Narin Phol, Regional Managing Director of Maersk in North America.
Performance Team is a family run business that began operations in 1987 in California, US. Today, the company operates 24 warehousing sites covering 800,000 square meters across strategic supply chain locations.
“Joining a global container logistics leader like A.P. Moller – Maersk is the ideal fit for Performance Team’s future growth, our customers and associates. Maersk has a significant presence here in the US. They have a continuous improvement mindset like ours and together we can clearly deliver attractive logistics solutions that make our customers more competitive while ensuring our employees grow with the business. Our focus will continue to be customer-centric and we are excited about delivering results for years to come,” said Craig Kaplan, CEO of Performance Team – who will remain CEO of Performance Team once the transaction closes.
In North America, Maersk Warehousing & Distribution is based in South Gate, California and has a regional network of 20+ facilities strategically located in the United States and Canada that offer warehouse and distribution solutions, including domestic consolidation, e-commerce fulfillment, inland drayage, facility and yard management and other value-added services.
The value of the transaction is USD 545m (EV) including IFRS 16 lease liabilities of around USD 225m. Performance Team 2019 EBITDA adjusted for IFRS 16 effects is estimated at USD 90m. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and the transaction is expected to close 1 April 2020. Until obtaining required regulatory approvals and closing of transaction, Maersk and Performance Team remain two separate companies and thus will do their business as usual.
