News / Bolloré's contract logistics arm buys French pharma specialist SLS

French 3PL Bolloré Logistics has completed the acquisition of specialist pharma logistics operator Stef Logistique Santé (SLS) for an undisclosed amount.

The newly acquired group, headquartered in Strasbourg, will be folded into Bolloré’s contract logistics division, Bolloré Solutions Logistiques (BSL), allowing it to significantly expand its supply chain services to the healthcare sector.

SLS employs 85 people at three sites in Strasbourg’s Port du Rhin, across around 13,000 sq metres at controlled temperatures of +2°/+8°C, +15°/+25°C and -20°C.

In addition to logistics services, SLS supplies specific packaging for pharmaceutical products.

BSL now operates over 85,000 sq metres of warehousing space in France, including a 10,000 sq metre 2021-built temperature-controlled logistics facility at Strasbourg Entzheim Airport, where it provides value-added services for pharmaceutical product flows and logistics operations, including air and sea exports.

“The acquisition of SLS is part of a twofold approach, encompassing our contract logistics growth strategy as well as our drive to enhance our service offering in the healthcare sector,” said Laurent Foloppe, CEO of Bolloré Solutions Logistiques.

“We are thrilled to have been able to conclude this deal, enabling us to offer comprehensive solutions to our customers in a rapidly growing sector,” he added.

The deal comes as Bolloré’s own acquisition by French shipping line CMA CGM for €5bn nears completion, a deal given the go-ahead by EC competition regulators this week, on the proviso that Bolloré disposes of some Caribbean operations.

Meanwhile, CMA CGM is understood, according to this Loadstar Premium analysis, to have begun shuffling executives at the carrier, its air cargo arm and at its 3PL subsidiary, Ceva Logistics, as it prepares to complete its largest-ever M&A deal.