Itella and VR Group sign a letter of intent for a business acquisition

Itella Corporation and VR Group have today signed a letter of intent for a business acquisition where Itella Logistics acquires the groupage logistics business of VR Transpoint in Finland. The net sales of the groupage logistics included in the letter of intent is approximately €130 million, and the number of staff is more than 800. State-owner has actively participated in preparing this acquisition, which aims at eliminating overlap between the operations of the two state-owned companies.

The realization of acquisition is expected to take about three months. Acquisition also requires approval by the competition authorities.

“This is good for Finnish logistics operations because the extensive operations also involve efficiency benefits. Our in-depth research has shown that merging the companies' functions will also achieve advantages visible to the customers,” says Jukka Alho, President and CEO of Itella.

“VR Transpoint will focus on mass goods logistics and its development both on railways and road. Giving up on groupage logistics is part of the change in VR Group’s strategy”, says Mikael Aro, President and CEO of VR Group.

Further information:
Jukka Alho, Itella, President and CEO, tel: +358 20 452 3366 (Itella MediaDesk)
Mikael Aro, VR Group, President and CEO, tel: +358 30 720 000

VR Group 29.5.2012