SF Express, the largest integrated logistics provider in China and Asia, has become the majority shareholder of Kerry Express (Thailand) Plc (KEX), holding 62.66% as a result of a mandatory tender offer for shares.
The company said the move would help enable KEX to upgrade its services and bounce back to profitability.
The local unit of Kerry reported revenue from sales and services of 11.4 billion baht last year, down 37% from 17 billion in 2022. It posted a loss of 3.8 billion baht, compared with a loss of 2.8 billion in 2022.
As a direct subsidiary of SF Express, KEX can now anticipate more flexible support, particularly regarding funding and the technology and operational expertise.
KEX chief executive Alex Ng told the Bangkok Post that the company’s two priorities are to improve profitability and align its operations and efficiency with that of SF in China.
He said that having SF as majority shareholder would also enable the company to tap the cross-border delivery market.
KEX also wants to make consumer-to-consumer (C2C) delivery a bigger contributor to total revenue, apart from business-to-consumer delivery, said Mr Ng.
Dave Liu, head of the international department at Kerry Express, said that amid intense competition in the international shipping market, the company is seeking new opportunities and channels to fulfil customer needs in sending parcels abroad.
On March 25, KEX held a troop marketing event at Chatuchak Market to raise awareness, targeting merchants who have foreign customer bases as well as tourists wanting to send their purchases back home.
SF International Holding (Thailand) Co Ltd (SFTH), an indirect subsidiary of SF Express, made the mandatory tender offer for all of the remaining KEX securities on Feb 8, buying 1.28 billion shares or 73.18% of the total issued and paid-up shares held by other shareholders at 5.50 baht each. The tender offer period lasted 28 trading days, from Feb 13 to March 22.
SFTH currently holds 1,091,818,327 shares, or 62.66% of all issued and paid-up shares in KEX.