Wincanton battle heats up as rival suitor tables offer worth more than £760m

The takeover tussle for logistics giant Wincanton has notched up a gear after a rival US suitor tabled an offer worth more than £760 million.

GXO Logistics – a US-based logistics group, which has a 130,000-strong team around the world – revealed it had made a 605p-a-share cash offer for Wiltshire-headquartered Wincanton, sending shares in the UK firm soaring by nearly a fifth.

The deal values Wincanton at £762 million, or £764 million including debts.

It sees GXO muscle in on an agreed bid by Ceva Logistics – part of French shipping specialist CMA CGM – which valued Wincanton at £605 million.

GXO specialises in using automation technology to help its customers manage their supply chains, while Wincanton also manages elements of its customers’ supply chains, working with brands from Ikea and Primark to Waitrose and Wickes.

Wincanton has more than 20,000 staff.

GXO said there would likely be some impact on support staff if its “superior” bid is successful amid plans to overhaul administrative functions, but said this would likely impact 0.2% of the 150,000 combined workforce, or around 300 jobs.

It added: “While synergies are expected from combining support functions, GXO expects overall headcount will increase long term as part of ongoing efforts to grow its UK operations.”

It expects to be able to strip out around £50 million in “synergies” by the third year after the deal.

Malcolm Wilson, chief executive of GXO said: “Wincanton is a world class business, and we have long been impressed by their high-quality people and diverse customer relationships across key industries.

“The combination of GXO’s technological capabilities and global reach with Wincanton’s proven expertise in the UK and Ireland markets will enhance our offering for the benefit of both companies’ current and future customers.

“Our superior offer reflects our conviction in the value of this business and the opportunities the combined company will realise.”

Wincanton was not immediately available to comment.

It said last month that it had agreed to be bought by Ceva, with an initial price of £567 million.

Ceva then raised the offer to value the group at about £605 million, as Wincanton said it had received a potential offer from GXO.

It said at the time that there had been no formal proposal, including what the terms or price of an offer might be, but that it would be carefully considered if it was put on the table.