Aramex makes largest ever acquisition in $265m US deal

Twitter/Aramex

• Company buys e-commerce platform to boost shipment volumes
• Courier business underperforming compared to freight business

Aramex has completed the acquisition of Access USA Shipping, a platform that enables cross-border e-commerce, for $265 million. 

The transaction marks the logistics company’s largest acquisition to date, it said in a filing on Dubai Financial Market.

Aramex said Access USA Shipping, which is better known as MyUS, will be integrated into their business, operating as a unit within the company’s courier segment.

MyUS will retain its brand name and will be complementary to Shop & Ship, Aramex’s subscription-based last mile e-commerce solutions platform.

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The acquisition will further strengthen Aramex’s cross-border express business by increasing shipment volumes, growing and diversifying its customer base, and expanding coverage in new origins and destinations. 

MyUS, which provides package forwarding solutions for 180,000 active customers, has 300 employees. In 2021 the company generated more than $100 million in revenue and delivered 1.1 million packages to customers who shop from retailers based in the US, UK and China. 

“With the successful close of our largest strategic acquisition to date, Aramex has become an even more competitive player in the cross-border e-commerce space,” Othman Aljeda, CEO of Aramex, said.

“Given how complementary MyUS’s business is to ours, we believe our wider stakeholder universe will realise the immediate and long-term positive benefits of this acquisition.”

Ramesh Bulusu, CEO of MyUS, added: “We are excited to begin a new chapter of growth with Aramex.

“We are ready to take our products and solutions to new markets by leveraging on Aramex’s extensive global network, scale, knowledge and expertise in markets exhibiting attractive characteristics such as the MENA region, the UK and Australia. 

“Together with Aramex, we will work on developing a joint business plan to unlock revenue and operational synergies to help grow the crossborder e-commerce business and bring customers the best solutions and services.”

Aramex’s revenues declined slightly in the first half of 2022 to AED 2.97 billion compared to the same period a year ago.

The lower performance of the courier business was offset by solid progress in the logistics and freight forwarding business, the company said in August. 

Net profit also declined by 18 percent over the same period to AED 91.9 million, mainly attributed to softer revenues, and also partially impacted by the exchange rate of the Lebanese and Egyptian pounds.  

DPDgroup, Aramex’s largest single shareholder, increased its equity stake in the company to 28 percent earlier this year.