Toll Bets On Asian Growth

Australian Freight giant Toll Holdings confirmed on May 7 that it would buy the 49% stake in Shenzhen-based joint venture ST-Anda Logistics held by its partner China Merchants Group, increasing its ownership to 100% in a move that represents the latest stage in its Asian M&A wave. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but Chinese regulatory approval is expected to take up to six months. Toll group managing director Paul Little said that 'we now have operations in over 50 countries globally and China is a critical element of our growth strategy.' Formed in 1995 as a joint venture between Singapore-based SembCorp Logistics (acquired by Toll for SGD1.4bn (US$949mn) in 2006) and the Shekou Industrial Zone, ST-Anda is a third-party logistics operator in China, with a network of 30 regional distribution centres across more than 1,300 cities in China and customers that include Colgate Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson.

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