UTi Shareholders Approve Acquisition by DSV
TT File PhotoShareholders of UTi Worldwide Inc. overwhelmingly approved a $1.35 billion acquisition by Denmark’s DSV A/S, a move that is intended to broaden the buyer’s U.S. and overseas logistics capabilities.
The vote was more than 99% in favor of combining UTi, which ranks No. 9 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, and DSV, which is No. 13 on TT’s ocean freight forwarding list and No. 17 in airfreight forwarding. UTi shareholders will receive $7.10 per share, a 50% premium over the closing price the day before the Oct. 9 announcement of the merger.
UTi, based inLong Beach, California, has been plagued by declining stock value in the wake of losses before and after a restructuring effort. Its shares closed at $11.63 on Jan. 15, 2015.
The companies plan to complete the acquisition in the first quarter.
“We are very excited to be joining forces with DSV, which we believe will strengthen our value proposition to our clients, while providing a meaningful cash premium to the holders of our ordinary shares relative to the recent trading prices,” UTi CEO Ed Feitzinger said when the acquisition was announced. “We have the opportunity to draw on the current strengths and scale of both companies to bring solutions to our clients that we could not have delivered on our own.”
