dnata Aviation Services Limited announced the expansion of its European footprint through its 100% acquisition of Wisskirchen Handling Services (Wisskirchen), subject to regulatory approval. Wisskirchen are the exclusive operator of the Cologne Bonn Cargo Centre, providing a full range of cargo services to its customers. Cologne is the third largest airport in Germany in terms of Cargo operations and is considered a site with significant capacity for growth given its location and significant transport network, both in Germany and Europe.
BDO provided cross-border diligence support for dnata following an ever-growing list of successful transactions since starting our relationship back in 2009.
"We are very excited to have signed this transaction which will see dnata’s cargo network expand to a key market in Europe. It has been a pleasure to work with the BDO team again and continue our long-standing partnership. The BDO teams in the UK and Germany provided quality finance, tax and legal due diligence support and advisory services on this project. We greatly value the professionalism of the BDO team and leaned heavily on their technical expertise and local knowledge throughout the process."
Mark Coates, CFO Europe, dnata
"This transaction represents our first successful transaction with dnata post the Covid pandemic. It is extremely encouraging to see shoots of recovery in a sector which was so heavily impacted by travel and transport restrictions during this time. We are glad to have worked with dnata again and reaffirmed our international credentials with the help of our German colleagues. We look forward to seeing the success of this expansion into Germany."
Andy Harris, Partner, BDO LLP