£726m acquisition of Wiltshire haulage firm goes ahead

The £726m acquisition of Wiltshire haulage firm Wincanton has been completed.

The acquisition of the company by global giant GXO was given government approval last week.

And following the announcement the US company has now completed the acquisition.

Following the deal chairman Sir Martin Read, senior director Gillian Barr, and non-executive directors Anthony Bickerstaff, Mihiri Jayaweera, Deborah Lentz and John Pattullo will leave the board.

However, Wincanton’s executive directors James Wroath and chief financial officer Tom Hinton will remain with the company.

GXO won the support of Wincanton bosses despite backing an earlier takeover offer from French company Ceva Logistics.

Wincanton announced last last month it would “unanimously” recommend the GXO offer to its shareholders.

GXO said on Monday (April 29) that all conditions of the acquisition had been met and it was now the sole shareholder of Wincanton.

The businesses will continue to be run independently until the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has completed a review of the deal.

GXO chief executive Malcolm Wilson, said: “We are very pleased to complete this valuable acquisition for our company, which advances our position as the global pure-play logistics leader, and we look forward to welcoming Wincanton’s high-quality team to GXO.

“By combining Wincanton’s footprint and proven expertise in the UK and Ireland with our global reach and transformative technology, we can provide a wider range of services to new and existing customers across geographies – and accelerate our long-term growth trajectory.”

GXO said it expected to create “significant value” for stakeholders by allowing new and existing customers to benefit from a broader range of services and capabilities across an expanded global platform.

The firm said the acquisition would expand its offering and customer base in several industries in the UK including aerospace, utilities, industrial and healthcare.

The deal will also lead to full annual savings of around £45m.