DSV buys UTi in $1.35 billion deal to expand in US market

DSV A/S agreed to buy UTi Worldwide Inc. in a transaction that implies an enterprise value of $1.35 billion as the Danish logistics company seeks to expand in the US air and sea freight market.

DSV’s offer of $7.1 a share represents a premium of about 50 percent compared to the Oct. 8 closing price of UTi’s stock, DSV said in a statement on Friday. The Danish company’s shares opened more than 6 percent higher in Copenhagen after the announcement and traded up 5.5 percent at 265.70 kroner as of 9:03 a.m. local time.

"We complement each other perfectly, both in terms of business activities and geography," DSV Chairman Kurt Larsen said in Friday’s statement.

DSV dropped takeover plans with UTi in December after a Bloomberg News report revealing it had been in talks caused UTi shares to spike. UTi has lost 61 percent of its market value in 2015 after the Long Beach, California-based firm slashed its profit forecast.

DSV Chief Executive Officer Jens Bjoern Andersen had signaled this year he’s seeking large takeovers after focusing on small and medium-sized targets during the financial crisis. The Hedehusene, Denmark-based company, which has bought 30 rivals in the past decade, has used the purchases to become Europe’s third-largest trucking company.