MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC) is continuing to move aggressively to expand its operations through strategic acquisitions as well as investments in its fleet.

In its latest manoeuvre, it was revealed that they have made a preliminary proposal and entered into negotiations to acquire Clasquin, a mid-sized international freight forwarder and overseas logistics company based in France, reports The Maritime Executive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Clasquin highlights that it has successfully positioned itself between the local players and the global giants. The company has grown rapidly with a network of more than eighty-five offices in twenty-five countries.

For more than 40 years, Clasquin highlights it has managed import and export flows, mainly between Western Europe and overseas with a focus on Asia-Pacific and North America. More recently they have developed in the Near and Middle East as well as in Northwest and sub-Saharan Africa.

MSC is rapidly expanding all sectors of its operations including a large new building programme and second-hand vessel acquisitions to reach a current capacity of 5.5 million TEU. It has increased from just over 4 million TEU at the beginning of 2022. At the same time, they have expanded air cargo operations, acquired operations in Africa, invested in Italian rail and multimodal operations, and are closing in on completing the acquisition of the port operator in Hamburg, Germany.

The controlling shareholder of Clasquin reports it was approached by MSC's SAS Shipping Agencies Services subsidiary and has entered into exclusive negotiations. Yves Revol and his company Olymp, own 42 per cent of the equity of Clasquin. He acquired the company in 1982 after working as a sales director at the company and today serves as executive chairman.

Revol and Olymp report they received a non-binding offer from SAS which valued the company based on an enterprise value of EUR325 million (US$351 million).

Clasquin reports it will continue to operate under its trade names after the acquisition by the MSC subsidiary.