Montagu Private Equity acquires Unifeeder

Montagu Private Equity, the European private equity firm that specialises in mid-sized companies, has agreed to acquire Unifeeder, the Danish feeder container line. The parties did not disclose any financial details. Unifeeder, which has annual sales of about €380M ($515M), has the largest feeder network for container transport in Northern Europe and operates a fleet of 42 ships, all of which are chartered. They range in size from 500 to 900teu. The company transports containers from hubs at Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam to more than 20 ports across the Nordic Region, the Baltic States and Russia. The feeder operations are complemented by its door-to-door container transport and freight forwarding businesses. “Unifeeder … fits perfectly into Montagu’s strategy of investing in partnership with outstanding management teams in businesses with positive momentum and substantial growth and development potential," Peter Dahlberg, Investment Director at Montagu, said in a statement. Unifeeder has forecast that volume on its container shipping business will double from 2005 to 2015. Following the acquisition, Jesper Kristensen, currently responsible for the German, Baltic and Russian operations, will become chief executive of Unifeeder. Montagu focuses on corporate acquisitions valued at €75-800M. It has two offices in the UK and others in Paris, Dusseldorf and Stockholm.