Freight company acquired by French logistics giant (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — A 58-year-old freight company that operates at the Port of Jacksonville has been acquired by an international logistics company.
Southern Companies, headquartered in western Miami-Dade, was acquired by Geodis, a global logistics provider with more than 150 warehouse facilities in the United States. The financial terms of the deal, which was announced on May 23, were not disclosed.
The absorption of Southern Companies will enhance Geodis’ supply chain capabilities across the U.S., a company release stated.
“The acquisition of Southern Companies represents an important addition to Geodis as we continue to strengthen and grow our capabilities, our team, and our client roster throughout the U..S.,” Mike Honious, president and CEO of Geodis in Americas, said.
Founded in 1965, Southern Companies was a family-owned business that has moved more than one million containers and provides a range of import and export services such as warehousing and trucking.
Southern Companies employs more than 80 people at terminals in Port Miami, Port of Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Port of Houston, Port of Jacksonville, Port of Tampa, Port of Savannah, and Port of Charleston.
Its main office is in a 34,850-square-foot warehouse at 7210 N.W. 77th. NM Building LLC, co-managed by Southern Companies’ president Nivardo Mora, acquired the property for $745,700 in July 1980.
Jorge Mora, Nivardo’s son and CEO of Southern Companies, said combining with Geodis will expand his family’s company reach “and provide an even broader range of services to our clients to help them navigate today’s complex supply chain landscape.”
Founded in 1904, Geodis’ was wholly acquired bySNCF, a railway company owned by the French government.
Geodis’ main headquarters is in Levallois-Perret, France while its Americas division is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Geodis operates in 170 countries and employs 49,400 people — more than 17,000 of which are in North America.
In 2022, Geodis generated €13.7 billion (about $14.6 billion) in revenue, the company release stated.