Acquisition · Logistics / healthcare
Mitsubishi Logistics buys U.S. pharma logistics firm Cavalier to expand in healthcare
- Buyer
- Mitsubishi Logistics (Tokyo)
- Target
- Cavalier Logistics group, United States and United Kingdom
- Value
- About ¥22.1B (about $148M) for 90%, from the company's later annual results
- Status
- Completed; Mitsubishi Logistics announced the close on October 3, 2023, taking a 90% stake.
- Date
- 2023-04-28
Mitsubishi Logistics agreed to acquire the Cavalier Logistics group, three US companies and one UK company that handle supply-chain logistics mainly for biopharma and healthcare clients and US government agencies. The purchase was made through a newly formed US subsidiary and the Cavalier brand is retained. The price was not announced at signing.
Why it matters
It gives the Japanese warehouse operator an instant foothold in temperature-sensitive pharma logistics in the US, a market it could not easily build on its own, and access to US government logistics work.
The group
The three US companies share a base in Dulles, Virginia, near Washington's main international airport. The two operating companies date from 1985, and the UK arm, at Feltham near Heathrow, was set up in 2014. Closing slipped from the planned August 1 to October 2, 2023, while the deal waited for CFIUS approval.
The price and after
Mitsubishi Logistics' annual results put the cost of the 90% stake at about ¥22.1 billion, most of it booked as customer relationships and goodwill. In the year to March 2026 it wrote off about ¥4.9 billion, the full goodwill, after US policy changes cut cargo volumes.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
