No further details are known yet on Carlyle’s possible bid for Logen, while another private equity house KKR & Co. is understood to have interest in the South Korean logistics firm.
Explosive online shopping growth has brightened the outlook for parcel delivery firms. But Carlyle’s participation in the bidding for Logen may not translate into a higher price tag, industry sources said.
“PEFs cannot help but think about exit plans,” an IB source told the Korea Economic Daily. “In the first round of the sale process, it was confirmed that strategic investors were not keen (on Logen), so PEFs will not likely stretch themselves to buy it for a high price.”
Unlike bigger South Korean parcel delivery firms under large business groups such as CJ and Hanjin, Logen does not have its own logistics infrastructure, but charges fees for matching transport companies with individual businessmen involved in parcel delivery services.