ABX Logistics, the Belgian worldwide logistics service provider, is rumoured to be up for sale. The company is owned by British venture capital institution 3i, which bought the former Belgian Railways subsidiary in June 2006.

Unconfirmed press reports are now asserting that 3i has entered negotiations with a number of logistics service providers for the sale of the company. The Bloomberg news service reported that 3i had appointed UBS as its advisory investment bank and was looking to sell ABX for €600m. If true, that would represent a huge premium on the price paid in 2006 which was believed to be €80m.

Bloomberg also asserted that the parties 3i is discussing the sale with are publicly-quoted companies, although it did not state the source of that information. However, if that suggestion is accurate, one strong possible bidder for ABX could be Penske Logistics which has an alliance with ABX Logistics . Penske is known to have embarked on a strategy of expansion in Europe but has so far only achieved modest results. ABX and Penske concluded an alliance in 2007 which included a joint venture in Brasil. ABX also has a relationship with VANTEC World Transport Co Ltd in Japan .

ABX Logistics is a former subsidiary of Belgian Railways, SNCB. The business had a troubled history prior to its sale to 3i, with the Belgian Government subsidising the company by over €100m. The company had grown by acquisition and consequently has a broad geographical market base including exposure to the Americas and Asia Pacific.