Comment / Forwarding M&A: 'We buy the freight, not the brains'

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(Editor’s note: This is Mr Rain’s debut for Loadstar Premium. Writing under a nickname, he is a T&L veteran who held senior roles across multiple global forwarders, from dusty sheds to country P&Ls. He writes about what ’really happens after the M&A headlines fade’)

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In global forwarding, M&A used to be sold as a way to combine networks, capabilities and, crucially, talent. The classic pitch was: buy reach and know‑how, then unlock value by integrating the best of both worlds.

Lately, it ...