WiseTech Global Acquires Blume Global

Logistics software firm WiseTech Global has purchased Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blume Global for $414 million. Blume Global’s multimodal supply-chain orchestration platform, which launched in 2018 and is said to unite “end-to-end visibility, supplier management and logistics execution,” is used by such customers as BNSF Logistics, Canadian Pacific, C.H. Robinson, CSX, Florida East Coast Railway, Hapag-Lloyd, Kansas City Southern, Maersk, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.

Sydney, Australia-based WiseTech on Feb. 16 reported acquiring Blume from funds managed by Apollo, EQT and other minority shareholders. Blume, which manages intermodal containers and chassis on behalf of Class I railroads, ocean carriers and other intermodal equipment providers, “is a high-growth recurring revenue business and is expected to generate FY24 revenues in the range of US$65 million to US$70 million representing annual growth of 45% to 55%,” according to WiseTech. “Before operational synergies, on a standalone basis, Blume expects to achieve FY24 EBITDA margins of approximately 10% and be cash-flow breakeven by the end of FY24.”

Blume in January 2022 introduced what it described as “an end-to-end, interline rail freight scheduler that gives users visibility around cargo moving from one railroad to another.”

“This is another strategically significant acquisition that follows our acquisition of Envase Technologies last month,” said Richard White, Founder and CEO of WiseTech, whose customers include more than 18,000 logistics companies, such as third-party logistics providers and freight forwarders, across 170-plus countries. “It further extends our capability in one of our six key CargoWise [software] development priority areas, integrating rail into our … logistics offering in North America, the most complex and largest logistics region in the world. Blume also brings significant new talent, a portfolio of other valuable product capabilities, and further enhances our product development skillset. This transaction demonstrates WiseTech’s continued investment in its CargoWise ecosystem, improving visibility and process efficiencies end-to-end across the supply chain for our customers.”

“Joining the WiseTech Global group means greater scale and resources to make logistics processes more productive, agile, dependable, and sustainable with innovative execution and visibility solutions,” Blume CEO Pervinder Johar said. “We want to thank the team at Apollo for helping to stand up and grow Blume as a standalone company and are thrilled to embark on this next chapter to drive even greater digital innovation in this sector.”