Mota-Engil sells rail freight company Takargo to French SNCF Group
According to Rail Logistics, Takargo was set up in 2006 as part of the liberalisation of the European rail freight market, becoming the first private rail freight operator in Portugal.
Rail Logistics, the logistics and rail freight division of the SNCF Group, announced Tuesday that it has acquired Takargo, a subsidiary of the Portuguese group Mota-Engil.
In a statement, Rail Logistics said that this acquisition confirms “its desire to continue to promote rail freight in Europe and to accelerate modal shift” and that Takargo will be integrated into the Captrain network, a major ‘player’ in rail transport and logistics in Europe.”
“This acquisition, subject to validation by the Competition Authorities, demonstrates the confidence of Rail Logistics Europe’s management in Portugal’s market potential, which is based above all on the dynamism of its main ports,” the company said.
According to Rail Logistics, Takargo was set up in 2006 as part of the liberalisation of the European rail freight market, becoming the first private rail freight operator in Portugal.
As part of its development strategy, they add, the company extended its activity to cross-border traffic with Spain in 2009 with the creation of Ibercargo, a joint venture owned with Captrain España that “developed a strong position on the Spain-Portugal corridor”.
In 2021, Takargo achieved a turnover of 16 million euros and has more than 100 employees, the French company said.
In the statement, Rail Logistics also argues that the integration of Takargo into a relevant European company in the sector will accelerate its development, making the company stronger with cross-selling opportunities resulting from the wide geographical network and Captrain’s vast portfolio of customers and services.”
“The integration will also meet the needs for carbon-free logistics services in the Iberian Peninsula, which is heavily dominated by road transport,” Rail Logistics further notes.
“With Takargo, Captrain intends to pursue the development of its network and strengthen its position in the Iberian Peninsula, capitalising on a fruitful 13-year partnership between the Portuguese company and Captrain España. Takargo will also allow us to support the need for carbon-free solutions on the Atlantic corridor for our customers’ conventional and combined traffic,” said Frédéric Delorme, president of Rail Logistics Europe, quoted in the statement.
The change of shareholder will not result in any change in the company’s operating model, Rail Logistics says, considering that “Takargo’s current team has demonstrated the ability to run the business effectively to meet the business needs of industrial customers and logistics operators, which it will continue to do.”
