The port of Lomé in Togo, managed by Bolloré Africa Logistics, in April 2015. ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP
It was Vincent Bolloré’s last nice move before handing over the reins of his group to his son Cyrille in February 2022: the sale of Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL) at a very high price to the Italian-Swiss shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). After all regulatory and competition authorities gave the go-ahead at the end of November, the transaction was completed three months ahead of schedule: the two groups are due on Wednesday 21st, one year after their exclusivity agreement.
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Were it not for the Covid-19 pandemic that sent freight rates skyrocketing in 2020-2021, and without the profits made by container ship owners, the Breton businessman would probably never have received such an attractive offer for assets worth more like €2-3 billion before the health crisis. The family company has made a lot of money in Africa over the past thirty years, but has also run into legal difficulties.
In February 2021, Mr. Bolloré pleaded guilty to active bribery of a foreign official and complicity in breach of trust in Africa. The Bolloré group was suspected of having paid for the services of Havas, a subsidiary of Vivendi, provided during the Togolese and Guinean presidential campaigns in exchange for benefits relating to the ports of Lomé and Conakry.
The deal with MSC went smoothly and without an international tender. “BAL’s facilities could have failed in an equity investor’s or sovereign wealth fund’s portfolio and I don’t think that would have been a good option, either for BAL’s business continuity or for Africa,” said the President of the MSC Group at the end of May, Diego Aponte, in an interview with Jeune Afrique.
Nobody wanted these assets to fall into the hands of a Gulf state or Singapore’s Olam, let alone China’s Cosco Shipping, which sees the possibility of exporting African commodities to China. And certainly not the French government, which undoubtedly would have preferred Marseille CMA CGM.
An important chapter that closes
It is an important chapter in the history of Vincent Bolloré’s empire that is coming to an end. He had opened it in 1986 with the acquisition of SCAC (Commerce and Transport) in Suez, then in 1991 that of Delmas armaments. At a rate of 200 million annual investments, according to a source familiar with the matter, BAL is set to become the continent’s first transport logistics network. A sector that has developed profoundly in recent years with the emergence of such powerful shipowners as MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Cosco, Hapag-Lloyd and Evergreen. They are now developing in land logistics and have more funds for large investments.
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