Braziian Logistics company aquired by FedEx

FedEx MD-10-30F (47836/330) N321FE departs Portand International Airport (PDX/KPDX) on August 25, 2011. (Photo by Michael Carter) 

FedEx has completed the purchase of Brazilian logistics company Rapidão Cometa (RC), another in a string of buys the Memphis-based express operator has made in recent months to buttress its global network. An acquisition price was not released; Recife-based RC generated more than $500 million in revenue last year.

“Brazil is the sixth-largest economy in the world and its rapidly increasing middle class presents tremendous opportunity,” FedEx Express COO and president-international Michael Ducker said in a statement. “[T]his acquisition is a testament to our commitment to expand our global footprint in the markets that most need access to the global marketplace.”

The latest international purchase gives FedEx “direct access to nationwide domestic services within Brazil and a domestic ground network of 45 branches and approximately 145 distribution points, 770 vehicles and trailers and 9,000 team members across the country,” the company said. “Customers of Rapidão Cometa will, in turn, gain direct access to FedEx global services and the FedEx network, connecting them to more than 220 countries and territories around the world.”

RC president Américo Pereira Filho has been named FedEx Express VP-Latin America and the Caribbean and president of FedEx Express Brazil. “To promote a seamless transition, the two companies will go through a complete integration process that is expected to last between 18 and 24 months,” FedEx said.

(Aaron Karp - ATWOnline News)