SINGAPORE and SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Menlo Worldwide, LLC, the global logistics subsidiary of Con-way Inc., just injected a shot of adrenalin into its Asia market development plans with the announcement that it will acquire Cougar Holdings Pte Ltd., and its primary subsidiary, Cougar Express Logistics. Cougar, a leading Southeast Asia freight forwarding, warehousing, logistics and distribution management company, has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The transaction is valued at $33.9 million, and the purchase price includes a $28.2 million cash payment to Cougar and the assumption of $5.7 million in debt.

Bob Bassett, vice president of marketing and sales for Menlo Worldwide, told Logistics Management that, although Menlo has already established a strong presence in Asia, this transaction will beef up Menlo’s ocean consolidation and deconsolidation capabilities in Singapore.

“We’ve had a full fledged on-the ground country management team with multiple operations in Asia and our strategy had been to develop that market organically,” he said. “This transaction will double our presence in that area. Our Asia headquarters are in Singapore, and our vice president of international operations is there, as is our managing director of the Asia Pacific region.”

Menlo’s country managers for China, India and Australia report to that managing director, and Bassett says with the addition of Cougar to the business, Menlo will expand its technology capabilities to better serve customers.

“We’ve signed the sales purchase agreement but the deal won’t close for another 12 weeks,” he added. “During that time we’ll be finalizing an integration plan and all of that will be addressed. Our customers expect us to be information managers for them. We’ll work with our customers individually to provide them with what they need.”

Cougar Express covers 12 operating locations in the region with a client base of nearly 200 Asia-based and global businesses. In its most recent fiscal year, Cougar Express recorded US$23 million in revenues.

“The synergies between the domestic distribution business and the contract logistics business across a greater geographical sphere offer significant opportunities for development,” said Heinz-Peter Faust, CEO of Cougar Express. “With the resources of Menlo, we will accelerate our growth and offer our customers an expanded regional service portfolio in Asia as well as access to Menlo’s extensive global capabilities. It is a winning formula that benefits our customers and employees and will make our combined organizations a much more formidable competitor in the market.”

Both organizations have well-established customer relationships and a strong presence and focus on the same key industry verticals: automotive, consumer and industrial and high-tech. The firms also share several common customers.

Robert L. Bianco, Jr., president of Menlo Worldwide, said that Menlo has been expanding its capabilities in the automotive market and that gaining Cougar’s extensive operations for finished vehicle logistics will add another surge to Menlo’s plans.

“Cougar’s car freighting services facilitate the transfer of imported motor vehicles from the Port to the various distributors' centers throughout the country,” he noted. “It will provide open space suitable for customs bonding for storage of such imported vehicles, and offer a wide range of value-added services such as inventory control, maintenance and yard management.”

Menlo will also gain a major foothold in the wine and spirits distribution market in Singapore, where Cougar has emerged as the dominant player in the alcoholic beverage logistics segment, controlling the market for import distribution and transportation business.

Tom Andel, Executive Editor