FedEx agrees to acquire Cargex S.A.

In a move geared towards bolstering its air freight forwarding and customs brokerage capabilities in Colombia and the broader Latin American region, global transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx said this week it has agreed to acquire international freight forwarder Cargex S.A.The acquisition also will include Agencias de Aduanas Aduanamos S.A. Nivel 2, an affiliate of Cargex specializing in customs brokerage services.

Based in Bogota, Colombia, Cargex has more than 25 years of experience, with a primary focus in export management of perishable goods and has operations in Bogotá, Medellin, Cartagena, Buenaventura, and Santa Marta. FedEx officials said that this acquisition is expected to be made official later in 2019 and is subject to custom closing conditions along with a Colombian regulatory filing. When the deal is made official, Cargex will operate as a subsidiary of FedEx Logistics/

“The addition of Cargex offers future growth opportunities in the Latin American region, a key market for us,” said Udo Lange, chief operating officer and incoming president and CEO, FedEx Logistics, in a statement. “This acquisition perfectly complements the roundtrip Colombia-to-Miami flight recently announced by FedEx Express. We will connect customers throughout the Latin American market with even more possibilities by combining world-class FedEx transportation solutions with a comprehensive line of logistics service offerings. We look forward to welcoming our new team members into the FedEx family and will utilize their expertise to make this integration a success.”

A FedEx spokeswoman told LM that a major driver for FedEx to enter into an agreement to acquire Cargex was due to Cargex being a leading provider of logistics services, including freight forwarding and customs brokerage solutions, while also noting that Cargex’s capabilities will complement and expand the FedEx portfolio of offerings essential to the rapidly growing global commerce landscape.

The relationship between FedEx and Cargex goes back “a number of years,” the spokeswoman said, as Cargex has served as FedEx’s Regional Service Provider (RSP) in Colombia over that time.