Business | Shipping
GAC acquires 100% of UK shipping group
The GAC Group has acquired 100 per cent of UK-based shipping and logistics group OBC.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:22 March 28, 2008
Dubai: The GAC Group has acquired 100 per cent of UK-based shipping and logistics group OBC.
The acquisition which comes into effect on March 31 will see OBC rebranded as GAC-OBC while continuing to handle vessels in ports throughout the UK, the Netherlands and the US Gulf coast where OBC has branch offices.
"There is a strong strategic fit between GAC and OBC," says Lars Heisselberg, group vice-president, GAC Shipping.
"Besides giving us an important foothold in the port of Rotterdam and complementing our existing US operation, OBC is strong in North Sea oil and gas and this is a sector where GAC has long term development interests.
"We are also fortunate to have built a close relationship with OBC since 2005 when the company became part of our Global Agency Network."
OBC was established in 1979 in Teesside in north-east England, focusing on a tanker port agency, offshore logistics, liner agency and freight forwarding. It has since evolved to add a business travel agency and dry bulk operations to its portfolio of services.
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