November 21, 2007
ICENTIS team advised Jarosław Pawluk in the divestment of CTL Logistics to Bridgepoint
On November 21, 2007 Jaroslaw Pawluk, founder of CTL Logistics, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading private rail logistics company and one of the largest private rail operator in Europe, divested his 75% stake of the company to a leading international private equity firm Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1992, CTL Logistics is organised around four core activities – rail transportation, freight forwarding, siding management and waste disposal – with a specific focus on coal and coke, fuels and oil, chemicals, construction materials and steel. The company provides full service, tailor-made logistics solutions through its own asset base. This includes sidings with 660 km of operated siding tracks, close to 200 locomotives and almost 5000 wagons as well as strategically located terminals for land and water transport. It has over 2,500 employees and in 2006 had revenues of PLN 974 million (EUR 249 million).
The rail freight market is a growing part of the land freight industry in Europe where annual growth rates in volume and value are predicted to exceed 4% and 5% per annum respectively. The Polish rail freight market itself is the second largest in Europe thanks to the country’s dominant market position in coal production and its strategic position as an East-West rail corridor.
Following the transaction, Jaroslaw Pawluk remains at CTL Logistics as a significant minority shareholder and as a member of the company’s supervisory board so that the company continues to benefit from his experience.
“I am proud to have built a leading private European rail logistics company. CTL Logistics is well positioned to continue its remarkable growth story, becoming a cornerstone for rail logistics in Poland and the East-West rail transport corridor” he said.
Divestment of CTL Logistics to Bridgepoint represents the biggest private equity transaction in Poland in year 2007 and second largest ever in the country’s history between private equity fund and sole individual.
Members of current ICENTIS team acted as sole strategic advisor to Jarosław Pawluk. They orchestrated and were responsible for the preparation and implementation of exit strategy, execution of the transaction, advising CTL Logistics’ founder in the transaction process and agreement negotiations.