MVP unit in talks to buy 40% stake in Air21

Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is firming up a deal to acquire an initial 40-percent stake in logistics, transportation and warehousing group Air21 in line with plans to become a major player in what is now a highly fragmented logistics services industry.

Sources told the Inquirer that Metro Pacific, which has been scouting for more expansion opportunities for its logistics arm Metropac Movers Inc. (MMI), was now finalizing its entry into Air21, an enterprise founded by businessman and former Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina.

While Metro Pacific is getting only an initial 40-percent stake in Air21, the group led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan expects to gain a controlling stake within a two-year period, based on the emerging structure of the transaction, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Metro Pacific is also looking at other logistics firms but the Air21 acquisition, which had been in the works since early 2017, was the one likely to be sealed soon.

Air21 delivers a wide range of services, including door-to-door deliveries, land transfer services, warehouse management for inventories and ship transfer. The Lina group of companies also has other operating companies engaged in cargo warehousing subsidiary Cargohaus and U-Freight.

MPIC wants to beef up the logistics business to make this segment a major contributor to group-wide earnings. To date, the group is into electricity, water, toll road and hospital businesses.

The group entered the logistics business in 2016 with the acquisition of the business and contracts of Basic Logistics and its affiliated companies in 2016.

MMI then acquired certain assets and business of Ace Logistics Inc. for about P280 million in 2017. Ace is engaged in warehousing, courier express and parcel delivery, e-commerce delivery, trucking, freight forwarding, customs brokerage and domestic shipping. Ace also has a strong presence in predelivery inspection in the automotive industry, which MPIC intends to expand.

In 2017, MMI announced that it had acquired 31 new clients and expanded its warehouse footprint to 235,000 square meters. MMI also purchased 512 trucks to service its warehousing, freight forwarding and trucking clients.