Key Takeaways
- • Amethis divests minority stake in Globex Group, a major Moroccan express courier, freight, and transit logistics platform that the French PE firm had built as a consolidation hub for African operations.
- • Globex acquired Logic Transport in October 2024 as part of Amethis's strategy to establish Morocco as a regional logistics hub, expanding the platform's operational footprint across North Africa and the continent.
- • Amethis maintains active portfolio presence in Moroccan logistics through parallel investments, including a 30.5% stake in Omar El Kadiri's operations and consortium acquisition of OCS Group (Morocco and Senegal operations) alongside Retail Holding in 2021.
- • Logistics platform scaled to 780 vehicles and 26 regional warehouses, demonstrating significant operational consolidation and infrastructure build-out under Amethis's development strategy before the stake divestiture.
- • Exit aligns with Amethis's broader African PE strategy, following historical precedent of portfolio exits (Dislog divestiture in June 2019) while maintaining selective exposure to high-growth African logistics and mid-market sectors.
Summary
Amethis, a French private equity firm specializing in mid-sized business investments across Africa and Europe, has divested its minority stake in Globex Group, a prominent Moroccan express courier, freight, and transit logistics operator. The divestiture marks a portfolio optimization move by the fund manager, which had previously assembled Globex as a strategic logistics consolidation platform intended to serve as a hub for broader African operations.
The Globex platform had demonstrated significant operational scaling under Amethis's ownership and management strategy. The platform operated a substantial fleet of 780 vehicles and maintained 26 regional warehouses across Morocco, positioning it as a material player in the regional express and freight logistics market. In October 2024, Globex completed the acquisition of Logic Transport, a prominent competitor, further expanding its market reach and consolidating the fragmented Moroccan logistics sector—a key component of Amethis's stated strategy to establish Morocco as a pan-African logistics hub.
Amethis maintains diversified exposure to Moroccan logistics and mid-market growth sectors despite the Globex stake divestiture. The firm holds a 30.5% shareholder position in Omar El Kadiri's operations and, in consortium with Retail Holding, acquired OCS Group's Morocco and Senegal operations following a transition from prior shareholders Adenia and Proparco, who had held stakes since 2021. This continued positioning reflects Amethis's confidence in North African logistics consolidation opportunities, even as it selectively exits individual platform investments.
The divestiture follows an established pattern for the fund manager, which previously executed a similar exit in June 2019 when it sold its stake in Dislog, another Moroccan logistics group. These transactions reflect typical PE portfolio lifecycle management—building and consolidating assets through add-on acquisitions, then exiting at improved valuation multiples while maintaining selective exposure to the broader sector through complementary investments.
The Globex platform had demonstrated significant operational scaling under Amethis's ownership and management strategy. The platform operated a substantial fleet of 780 vehicles and maintained 26 regional warehouses across Morocco, positioning it as a material player in the regional express and freight logistics market. In October 2024, Globex completed the acquisition of Logic Transport, a prominent competitor, further expanding its market reach and consolidating the fragmented Moroccan logistics sector—a key component of Amethis's stated strategy to establish Morocco as a pan-African logistics hub.
Amethis maintains diversified exposure to Moroccan logistics and mid-market growth sectors despite the Globex stake divestiture. The firm holds a 30.5% shareholder position in Omar El Kadiri's operations and, in consortium with Retail Holding, acquired OCS Group's Morocco and Senegal operations following a transition from prior shareholders Adenia and Proparco, who had held stakes since 2021. This continued positioning reflects Amethis's confidence in North African logistics consolidation opportunities, even as it selectively exits individual platform investments.
The divestiture follows an established pattern for the fund manager, which previously executed a similar exit in June 2019 when it sold its stake in Dislog, another Moroccan logistics group. These transactions reflect typical PE portfolio lifecycle management—building and consolidating assets through add-on acquisitions, then exiting at improved valuation multiples while maintaining selective exposure to the broader sector through complementary investments.
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