DFDS EXPANDS LOGISTICS NETWORK TO TÜRKIYE

09 Apr 2024 12:56 CEST

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT no. 24 - 9 April 2024



* DFDS acquires international transport network connecting Türkiye and Europe
from Ekol Logistics
* Network had revenue of DKK 3.5bn and 3,700 employees in 2023
* Acquisition replicates DFDS' ferry/road business model to the Mediterranean
and connects Türkiye to the existing DFDS network
* Transaction enterprise value of DKK 1.9bn equals a 7.6x EV/EBITDA and 0.55x
EV/Sales for 2023
* Transaction conditional upon EU merger control approval
* Investor/analyst conference call Tuesday 9 April 2024 at 4.00pm CET, see
registration details below.



DFDS has today entered into an agreement to acquire the international transport
network of Ekol Logistics (the "Company"). Ekol Logistics is a leading Turkish
transport and logistics company headquartered in Istanbul.

The Company transports goods between Türkiye and Europe with own offices and
facilities in 10 European countries. More than half of transports provided are
intermodal using combinations of road, ferry, and rail making the Company the
largest customer of DFDS' Mediterranean ferry route network.

"This acquisition is an excellent strategic match for DFDS. Transporting large
trailer volumes reliably and efficiently using combinations of road, ferry, and
rail is our core business. Moreover, we believe Türkiye's role as a
manufacturing hub for Europe will become even stronger in the future as
nearshoring drives supply chains closer to end markets", says Torben Carlsen,
CEO of DFDS.

"I'm delighted that Ekol Logistics' international transport network and all its
skilled and dedicated employees have found a new home with our longstanding
partner DFDS. This combination has the potential to make the transport
infrastructure between Türkiye and Europe more efficient and help raise
Türkiye's attractiveness as a manufacturing hub further", says Ahmet Musul,
founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Ekol Logistics.

The Türkiye-Europe transport market is on average expected to grow by around
14% annually until 2028 (CAGR for 2020-2023 was 15%) and the acquisition thereby
expands DFDS' network to a high-growth region supported by nearshoring of supply
chains closer to Europe.

Strategic fit and business model
The acquisition is fully aligned with DFDS' transport network strategy focused
on moving goods in trailers by ferry, road, and rail, and on offering
complementary logistics solutions.

The addition of the Company adds road transport to DFDS' Mediterranean ferry
network thereby extending the proven northern European ferry/road business model
to this region. DFDS' logistics network is in addition expanded across Europe
and the existing transport network is connected to Türkiye thereby enabling DFDS
to offer end-to-end transport and logistics solutions between Türkiye and Europe
directly to end customers.

The Company's transport network builds on a partnership since 2019 with DFDS
through a long-term customer agreement providing stable access to ferry capacity
in the Mediterranean route network. The agreement also extends access to third-
party rail transport from arrival ports to select European destinations. Road-
only transport and additional third-party rail transport solutions are offered
for destinations outside the ferry network's catchment areas and for transports
requiring faster delivery times.

Business and integration plan to improve financial performance
Due to challenging market conditions, including loss of market share, the
Company's EBIT-margin declined from 4.8% in 2022 to 2.5% in 2023.

The business and integration plan's financial objective is to improve the EBIT-
margin to around 5% by 2027 through a three-phased plan:

Phase 1 (year 1): Commercial and operational focus to increase volume throughput
and improve equipment utilisation by initiating sale of transports to/from
Türkiye by DFDS' existing northern European network. Grow volumes to Türkiye
from acquired European offices. Insource agency services to own existing
network.

Phase 2 (year 1-2): Integrate existing and acquired European networks to gain
scale benefits, including improved utilisation of equipment/facilities and
consolidation of offices/facilities. Move select volumes to ferry/rail from
road. Integrate customs organisations.

Phase 3 (year 2-3): Network optimisation and sales to key customers of contract
logistics products to complement transport solutions (FTL/LTL).

In parallel with the integration of operations, it-systems will be integrated
over expectedly three years. The two major integrations are replacement of
transport management systems and ERP systems with systems used by DFDS.

The Company will become part of the Logistics Division. A detailed business and
integration plan, including expected synergies, will be disclosed in connection
with the closing of the transaction.

Transaction structure and financing
DFDS acquires the Company for a debt-free price of DKK 1.9bn (EUR 260m) equal to
an EV/EBITDA multiple of 7.6x based on 2023 earnings and an EV/Sales multiple of
0.55x based on 2023 sales.

The transaction will be financed by a combination of loan financing and use of
existing cash funds.

About the Company's international transport network
The Company transports goods for manufacturers between Türkiye and Europe using
primarily trailers to minimise trip days as most goods carried are time
sensitive.

The network is set up for both intermodal and road-only transports using mostly
inhouse haulage and ferry/rail transport provided by third-party ferry and rail
operators. Around 80% of all transports combine transport modes. DFDS is the key
provider of ferry transport between Türkiye and Europe for the Company.

Customers are mainly European and global manufacturers with production or
assembly plants in Türkiye and Europe as well as Turkish export companies.
Primary sectors served are automotive, industrial parts, and textiles/garments.

The network offers customers both full-load (FTL) and part-load (LTL) transports
with a split of around 60/40 as well as complementary services, e.g. customs.
The top three transport flow corridors are Türkiye-Germany followed by Spain and
France. Own offices and facilities are operated in 10 European countries to
service customers and haulage operations.

The Company's revenue was DKK 3.5bn in 2023 and had 3,700 employees. More than
6,000 equipment units are operated and owned outright. Equipment includes 1,300
trucks, 3,900 trailers/swap bodies, and 600 containers. There are 26 facilities
in Europe with a total area of 120,000 sqm. Around 75% are cross-docking
terminals for the LTL operations and the remainder are warehousing with storage
capacity.

Road and sea freight comprise more than 90% of the total Türkiye-Europe
transport market which is on average expected to grow by around 14% annually
until 2028 (CAGR for 2020-2023 was 15%). The main competitors are Turkish
transport and logistics companies as well as to some extent container shipping
operators.

Regulatory approvals

Completion of the transaction is conditional upon EU merger control approval and
usual contractual conditions. As announced on 28 July 2023, the transaction has
been approved by the Turkish Competition Authority. Closing is expected around
the beginning of Q4 2024.

Investor conference call
An investor and analyst conference call will be held on 9 April 2024 at 4.00pm
CET.

Please register for the call via this link
(https://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNum
ber=8492464&linkSecurityString=123071cf50). Live streaming is available from
this link (https://getvisualtv.net/stream/?dfds-mrddi962e0).



Contact

Torben Carlsen, CEO +45 33 42 32 01

Søren Brøndholt Nielsen, IR +45 33 42 33 59

Dennis Kjærsgaard Sørensen, Media +45 42 30 38 47



About DFDS

We operate a transport network in and around Europe with an annual revenue of
DKK 27bn and 13,200 full-time employees.

We move goods in trailers by ferry, road & rail, and we offer complementary and
related transport and logistics solutions.

We also move car and foot passengers on short sea and overnight ferry routes.

DFDS was founded in 1866 and headquartered and listed in Copenhagen.



This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section
5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

More information:
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615401_DFDS_NO_24_09_04_2024_ACQUISITION_LOGISTICS_TURKIYE.pdf