MCS Acquisition

Founded in 1993, the business provides full-service container logistics to customers shipping approximately 100,000 containers per year from its three strategically located terminals in Meppel, Groningen and Leeuwarden. MCS operates 10 barges, each with capacity exceeding 156 TEUs and over 80 trucks. Its customer base comprises blue-chip companies based in the north of the Netherlands, with a strong focus on the export of agriproducts.

Inland shipping is an environmentally friendly solution for transporting goods and is a resilient and growing segment in the Benelux logistics sector, providing a significantly more sustainable alternative to road haulage. Each barge can transport the equivalent load of 100 trucks with 75% less CO2 emissions. MCS is well positioned to benefit from the structural shift to barging which is underpinned by the need to decarbonise, to reduce road congestion around the ports and political support for inland waterways.

The investment from Infracapital is an important strategic step in the market for inland shipping, in addition to the recently acquired inland container terminal operator BCTN , the sixth standalone investment made by Infracapital Partners III. The intention is to create a platform for further consolidation in the region. Fund III’s strategy is to invest sustainably in essential brownfield infrastructure to meet the changing needs of society and support long-term economic growth across Europe.