Headquartered in Brussels, ABX is a global freight company offering air and sea freight forwarding services globally and international road transport in Europe. It also provides Contract Logistics Solutions in Europe.

Overview

ABX has a particularly strong presence in Western and Southern Europe, and has a leading position in Italy under the name of Saima Avandero. It also operates an extensive network in Asia-Pacific and in the Americas.

At exit in 2008, ABX operated in 100 countries worldwide, had revenues of €1.8bn, and a workforce of c.6,500 people.

How we added value

• Expanded operations (US, China, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Poland, India and Japan) and made several strategic bolt-on acquisitions
• Improved sales force effectiveness and implemented a redesign of the IT platform to improve service quality
• 3i worked closely with management to turn the business into a profitable, cohesive global group, resulting in strong growth and a successful sale of the company in October 2008

Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i Benelux.