CHEP Parent Brambles to Buy IFCO

Brambles Limited, the parent company of pallet pooling solutions provider CHEP, plans to acquire IFCO SYSTEMS, NV, a marketer of reusable plastic containers (RPCs) in 23 countries, and pallet management services in the USA.

Once approved, the transaction would create an entity with sales revenue of approximately $5 billion, of which more than $4 billion would come from pooling and pallet services. The Brambles group would have more than 16,000 employees, working in 49 countries across six continents under the CHEP, IFCO, Recall, LeanLogistics, and Unitpool brands.

“This transaction represents a tremendous opportunity for our customers that supports our growth plans in RPCs and pallets,” said Orlando, Fla.-based CHEP Americas group president Jim Ritchie. “Our customers can expect no service interruptions during the regulatory review period, and significant service enhancements in the medium to long-term, including product and service innovation and greater value delivery.”

CHEP’s pallet-pooling services support more than 500,000 customer touch-points in 45 countries.