WFS acquires 51% stake in Fraport Cargo Services

JULY 8, 2015: Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is to acquire a 51 percent shareholding in Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) as part of a strategic partnership with Fraport AG.

Fraport is to retain a 49 percent share in FCS and will continue to take a substantial role in the management of the company. Terms of the transaction, which WFS and Fraport plan to close by September 2015, have not been disclosed.

For over 40 years, Fraport Cargo Services has been the largest provider of independent cargo handling services at Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s joint largest cargo airport alongside Paris CDG. In 2014, cargo and mail traffic through Frankfurt rose 1.8 percent to some 2.1 million tonnes. FCS employs more than 600 cargo handling professionals at its modern freight centres in the airport’s CargoCity South and provides services to most of the world’s leading air carriers.

Olivier Bijaoui, Executive Chairman, president & CEO of WFS, said, “This is a major transaction that positions WFS and FCS as the leading cargo handler at one of the biggest cargo airports in the world. As Europe’s largest economy, Germany is obviously a prime focus in our growth plans. We could not ask for a stronger partner than Fraport, with whom we share a passion for quality and performance and likewise who have demonstrated a commitment to the cargo handling industry over more than 40 years.”

Fraport AG executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said, “As in the past, the cargo business continues to be vitally important for our business model. To continue developing our cargo handling business successfully, it has been our wish to find a strong and competent partner that offers a strong international network. Thus, we are pleased today to announce this new strategic partnership with such a renowned international partner like WFS, to gain an even broader globally-linked base for successfully developing FCS further in the future.”