Jim Crane, founder and former CEO of Eagle Global Logistics, has assembled an executive team and will launch Crane Worldwide Logistics beginning in mid to late August.
Joining Crane, who will be chairman of the new freight forwarding firm based in Houston, will be John Magee as CEO and Keith Winters as chief operating officer. Magee said, “During the past 12 months that EGL/Ceva mandated that I not compete in the logistics industry, we have been able to research acquisitions of some of the most effective supply chain companies in the industry.”
Crane Worldwide Logistics will ultimately operate globally with company-owned operations in more than 40 countries, said the announcement. The company expects to have 4,000 employees worldwide over the next five to seven years and also expects to generate over $1 billion in revenue in that period.
Crane and a team of senior executives led an unsuccessful bid to acquire EGL in 2007. Along with General Atlantic LLC, the group offered $1.2 billion, at the time a 21% premium over the December 26, 2006 closing price for EGL stock. Revenues reported for the year prior to the buyout offer were $3.1 billion.
General Atlantic withdrew its participation in the buyout “due to an expected shortfall in EGL's fourth quarter 2006 results.” At the time, Crane announced to Eagle's board that he would pursue other equity sources and mount a revised offer.
Ceva Logistics, itself owned by an equity firm Apollo Management after its sale by TNT, mounted a successful bid for EGL, completing the $2 billion acquisition on August 2, 2007.
Reporting financial results later that year, John Pattullo, CEO, noted, “We are a new company comprised of former TNT Logistics and EGL and we already behave as a single, integrated entity."
The company reported EGL revenues of €1,962 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, up 4.9% over the prior year period. In a presentation later that year, Pattullo described Ceva's presence in Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific, saying revenues of roughly €6 billion (nearly $8 billion) were divided between the regions as 48% from Europe, 32% from the Americas and 20% from Asia Pacific.
In 2008, Ceva reported its first full-year results. Pro forma earnings for 2007, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, were €284.8 million ($419 million). Though the EGL merger had not been completed until late in 2007, the company estimated that if it had occurred on January 1, 2006, the comparable earnings would have been €182.5 million. On that basis, Ceva estimated 2007 revenues increased 4.5%. Pattullo said the merger of Ceva's contact logistics and EGL's freight management operations was a key driver in its financial results.
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