PARIS (Reuters) -French conglomerate Bollore said on Tuesday it had entered into exclusive negotiations with French transport and shipping group CMA CGM to sell its logistics unit.
In a statement, the company said CMA CGM’s indicative offer would give Bollore Logistics a five billion euros ($5.49 billion) enterprise value on a cash free and debt free basis.
Bollore said the exclusivity period for the negotiations with CMA CGM runs until May 8.
CMA CGM, based in Marseille and privately controlled by the founding Saade family, saw its earnings surge in the past two years on the back of high freight rates and saturated supply chains.
It has used the profits to support an investment spree, including a stake in Air France-KLM, and, like its shipping rivals, has expanded its presence in logistics.
For Bollore, run by the family of billionaire Vincent Bollore, selling the logistics unit would mark a withdrawal from its historic activity after it sold the Bollore Africa Logistics business last year to shipping company MSC Group.
Shares in Bollore rose sharply after the announcement.
($1 = 0.9115 euros)
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Mathieu Rosemain and Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Ingrid Melander)
