Montréal-based port and marine transportation services business LOGISTEC Corp. is running a sale process for the company, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The owners of the TSX-listed company, which provides specialized services to the marine community and industrial companies in the areas of bulk, break-bulk and container cargo handling in ports and terminals located in North America, are working with Toronto-based Canadian bank TD Securities as sellside financial advisor, the sources said.
First round bids are due shortly, the first source familiar said.
"LOGISTEC Corporation continues to operate as usual," CFO Carl Delisle told Infralogic in an email. "Should there be any developments affecting the Corporation, we would advise our stakeholders in a timely manner, as we always have... business perspectives for the future of our various services remain very exciting. Our recent Fednav marine terminal acquisition is a prime illustration of our intention to proactively pursue growth through strategic acquisitions. When such opportunities arise and are seized, those initiatives are announced in full transparency," he added, saying that the company will "always seek to create value for shareholders and will always act in the best interests of our stakeholders."
In April, LOGISTEC Stevedoring Inc., a subsidiary of LOGISTEC Corporation, announced that it had completed the acquisition of the Canadian and US marine terminal business of Fednav, including Federal Marine Terminals, Inc., and the logistics division, Fednav Direct, for USD 105m. That transaction added 11 terminals to LOGISTEC’s network, bringing its total to 90 terminals in 60 ports across North America, the company said at the time in a statement.
The sale process comes at a time when similar businesses, such as Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III’s Ceres Terminals, are also seeking buyers. LOGISTEC shares some assets with Ceres, mainly in Montreal, and has a similar type of assets — though Ceres’s portfolio is focused more on container and cruise terminals while LOGISTEC works more with bulk cargo, according to an investor familiar with both processes.
“Ceres [was] a more traditional stevedoring company that Macquarie was able to convert from stevedoring to containers,” the investor said.
LOGISTEC reported annual adjusted EBITDA of CAD 142.1m (USD 105.27m) as of 31 December, up from CAD 120.8m in 2021 and CAD 100.7m in 2020, according to the Canadian company’s 2022 annual financial report.
While LOGISTEC is a listed company, the company’s largest shareholder is Sumanic Investments Inc. — which controls approximately 78% of the voting rights, according to a FAQ on the company’s website.
The voting shares of Sumanic Investments are held 33.33% each by three companies administered by President and CEO of Logistec, Madeleine Paquin; President and CEO of the NEAS Group and LOGISTEC board member, Suzanne Paquin; and Corporate Director and fellow board member, Nicole Paquin.
TD Securities did not respond to requests for comment.
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