Shipping company CMA CGM’s bid to enter the freight forwarding market took another step forward as the ocean carrier opened up its US$1.68 billion bid for Ceva Logistics to the company’s public shareholders.
Last week, the European Commission’s takeover board ruled that the combination of the fourth largest ocean carrier by size and the Swiss firm would not have an adverse effect on the market for ocean shipping.
The offer comes as shipping lines are seeking to take a bigger part of their customers’ supply chains by moving into inland transportation and freight management, outside the traditional scope of basic port-to-port transport. Denmark-based Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container carrier by capacity, has stated it wants to become an integrated freight operator like United Parcel Service and FedEx.
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