Cuno Vat on Steder: 'Never bought a company so quickly'

Did the Steder Group come calling or was there a strategic plan behind the acquisition?

A bit of a combination of those two factors. First, the opportunity arose to buy the Steder Group, and second, we formulated our three-year plan last year. In it, we indicated that in the next few years we want to expand our network in ocean freight forwarding by at least seven branches. In land transport in Europe we are provided for, but in ocean freight we wanted to strengthen ourselves in a number of strategic locations. With the Steder Group, we have now completed two of the seven wishes on our wish list, namely Glasgow and Dubai. This strengthens the scale needed to remain competitive in ocean freight forwarding in the Europe of tomorrow. For the time being, the Steder Group will continue to operate under its own brand name within Neele-Vat.

Cuno Vat, CEO Neele-Vat

Who took the initiative?

My father, Ruud Vat, was in contact with owner Rien Spijkers of the Steder Group several years ago during the World Port Days. At that time the subject was discussed. In March of this year, we suddenly got a call from Rien to come and talk, because talks with a potential buyer had come to nothing. Whether we were possibly still interested? Then you start talking. As Rotterdammers among ourselves, we were able to quickly close a deal at the end of last week. I don't think we have ever completed an acquisition so quickly. So on the one hand it was an opportunity, but on the other hand it also fitted together very well.

Why was the Steder Group in the shop window? No succession?

Rien Spijkers is 73 years old. For him, it had been nice.

Has it been a closed exchange purchase and will Nail become a shareholder with you guys?

No. We transferred a nice sum of money to his bank account. By the way, we are not buying everything within the Steder Group, only parts. This leaves Steder Agencies & Chartering out of the deal. That's a market we don't understand. Acquisitions must clearly fit within our strategy. In addition, for us, it must be a healthy company and people must be willing to stay on. For Rien, given his age, that obviously no longer applies.

Incidentally, the management in Scotland also has an interest in the offices there. So we are buying a 70% majority stake in the UK. The remaining 30% remains with the staff. In Dubai, the management also has a small minority stake. We as Neele-Vat only acquired all the shares of the offices in the Netherlands. Employee participation in the company is nothing new for us, by the way. Ten managers at Neele-Vat Logistics also own shares. That actually strengthens the team feeling.

How substantial is this acquisition for Neele-Vat in terms of revenue and personnel?

It's quite a significant club for us. So we are increasing our workforce by 100 people, including 50 people in Scotland, to 1,000 employees. And we now operate with 27 branches in ten countries. Turnover grows by 50 million euros to 395 million euros as a result of the acquisition, while the total number of square meters of storage is now 255,000 square meters.

Neele-Vat has now filled two of the seven offices in the strategic plan. Will you set up the remainder yourselves or still look at further acquisitions?

The latter. With a one man army you don't make a good start in a new market. So we are going to look to acquire existing players in those markets.

This still involves buying five ocean freight offices in strategic locations. Will it succeed within two years?

There is no time pressure. In addition, you are in a ocean freight market that has become unpredictable since the corona crisis due to huge price increases. I sometimes compare the market to a carton of milk that has become five times as expensive and of which you still have to wait and see whether the expiration date has not passed. We are therefore going to calmly map out the possibilities first. The basic principle remains that it has to suit us.

What countries are you looking at?

We are looking for ocean freight offices in Italy, Spain and Germany, among others.

Where exactly?

Surely then we are talking about seaports like Hamburg, Genoa. And Valencia, Barcelona and Algeciras in Spain. And Antwerp.

source: News Sheet Transport