Urgent Cargus

Created a strong #2 player in Romania’s courier services market by focusing on the rapidly growing B2C segment and consolidating a very fragmented market. Secondary sale to Mid Europa Partners, a buyout investor focused on Central Europe.

Investment Highlights

Key strategic drivers 

• Acquired two similar-sized rival CEP companies, Cargus (from DHL) and Urgent (from a family of Romanian entrepreneurs)
• Successfully merged Cargus and Urgent, creating Urgent Cargus, a strong #2 player
• Consolidated a very fragmented courier market through 5 bolt-ons and one merger
• Leveraged our sector expertise gained from our prior investment in Siodemka
• Strong focus on rapidly growing e-commerce: B2C’s share in sales increased to 64% from 25% at entry 

Key operational drivers 

• Appointment of a new COO and a controlling team for Operations Department
• Invested in state-of-the-art sorting centers and equipment, fleet and robust IT system
• Optimized courier and distribution routes to increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption
• Reduced the number of depots by ca. 50% which led to a ca. 40% reduction in the number of linehaul routes needed for daily operations
• Over the investment period, the company grew from ca. 900 employees and 300 contractors to more than 1,100 employees and 2,000 contractors
• Reduced carbon emissions by renewing the fleet of cars and encouraging subcontractors to do the same 

Exit process

• Competitive auction process with both strategic investors and private equity funds as bidders
• Full exit through secondary sale to Mid Europa Partners (a buyout fund investing in CE)