International freight forwarding and logistics company Panalpina is to acquire Air Connection, a Kenya-based forwarder specialized in the export of flowers and vegetables. The move comes after Panalpina’s acquisition of Airflo in Kenya in 2016 and only two weeks after the company formally announced the launch of its global Perishables Network.
Panalpina will acquire the family-owned Kenyan company Air Connection, subject to conditions. The companies reached a respective agreement on May 2, 2017.
The merged company will handle around 70,000 tons of perishables air freight per year.
The merged company will employ over 350 staff in Nairobi and offer 3,000 m2 of cold storage capacity, which is soon to be extended even further to 4,000 m2. It will also run an office at the port of Mombasa where Panalpina plans to develop the ocean freight business for both perishables (using reefers) and dry cargo. The dry cargo activities involve the import of textiles and export of fashion products, mainly to the USA. Manjit Brar, who founded Air Connection in 1993, will remain as a consultant.
The companies have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the deal. The acquisition is subject to approvals by the relevant competition authorities.
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