Private equity in logistics — Attractive investment opportunities and leverage for value enhancement

The trans­for­ma­tion of the logi­stics indus­try has acce­le­ra­ted massi­vely in recent years: Tech­no­lo­gi­cal inno­va­tions, e‑commerce, digi­ta­liza­tion, sustaina­bi­lity and ever deeper and more specia­li­zed services and value crea­tion in a struc­tu­rally growing indus­try with many oppor­tu­ni­ties for buy & build are driving these chan­ges and offer inte­res­t­ing new invest­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties for private equity inves­tors. In addi­tion, the disrup­ti­ons in global supply chains in recent years, the struc­tu­ral growth of e‑commerce and geopo­li­ti­cal chan­ges have shown many inves­tors how important effi­ci­ent and resi­li­ent supply chains are for the success of port­fo­lio compa­nies. This is why logi­stics is incre­asingly beco­ming the focus of due dili­gence and opera­tio­nal value enhance­ment, not only in terms of costs but also as a value lever. 

Deal acti­vity of private equity in the logi­stics sector

Accoun­ting for around 11% of global econo­mic output, the trans­por­ta­tion and logi­stics indus­try is a signi­fi­cant market. In Europe alone, its various segments account for a total volume of around EUR 1.4 tril­lion, with Germany holding a dispro­por­tio­na­tely high share of 25% due to its central loca­tion in Europe and well-deve­­lo­­ped infrastructure.