The put option granted by CMA CGM comes at the end of an exclusive negotiation period with Bollore Group which was announced on 18 April.
Bollore said it had accepted the option but “strictly as an offer” and that it would now undertake information and consultation procedures with staff bodies to decide whether to exercise the put option.
The put option by CMA CGM is to acquire Bollore Logistics for an enterprise value of €5bn.
“If the acquisition is finalized, it would significantly strengthen the CMA CGM Group’s logistics business and make a top five player in global logistics,” the container line and logistics company said. CMA CGM already has major logistics market presence through Ceva Logistics.
Bollore Logistics and CMA CGM logistics activities combined would have had revenues of $24bn in 2022.
Last year Bollore sold its largely Africa based logistics businesses under Bollore Africa Logistics to MSC for €5.7bn.
Bollore is moving away from logistics to focus on its other businesses in areas such as communications, entertainment, telecommunications and publishing.