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The digital platform is set to drive efficiencies and transparency in the global freight industry
London, 9 June 2022 – M&G announces an investment of up to $50 million into Freightos Group (“Freightos”), a leading global freight booking and payment platform with the potential to transform the industry.
Global freight is one of the last remaining mega-industries to rely on a complex web of non-digitalised intermediates, lacking efficiency and transparency for those companies and businesses seeking to send goods via air or sea. Through a digital platform that allows real-time global freight rate comparison, booking, and shipment management, Freightos connects participants across the international freight ecosystem, including airlines, ocean liners, and trucking companies.
The digital platform, which is the largest in its sector, also provides freight forwarders, importers and exporters, with carbon calculator tools to better understand and compare the emissions for specific shipping routes and modes. The tool is designed to drive more informed and sustainable booking decisions while improving emissions tracking across multiple modes.
The company, established in 2012, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with a special purpose entity that will result in Freightos being publicly listed on the NASDAQ. The capital raised from the transaction, which includes M&G’s investment, will be used to further scale the business, driving transaction value and improving margins.
M&G’s investment into the company is made on behalf of the £143 billion Prudential With-Profits Fund, which includes PruFund. As the UK’s largest with-profits fund, it offers investors access to a wide range of assets, across different asset types and countries, creating a diversified portfolio which spreads the risk of investment.
Carl Vine, Equity Portfolio Manager, M&G, says: “A spotlight has been shone on the global freight industry following the global pandemic and the resulting challenges to supply chains that continue to persist. Channelling capital into companies with the potential to modernise industry practices, by improving efficiencies and transparency, is designed to provide a better outcome for users of the freight industry and, in turn, provide our investors with returns over the long-term.
"With its marketplace technology winning rapid commercial adoption, the recent growth trajectory suggests that the company is well on its way to cementing its dominant position – enabling Freightos to realise its immense potential.”
Zvi Schreiber, Chief Executive Officer, Freightos Group, says: “Global freight moves the world. Last year, $22 trillion worth of goods crossed borders, but we have all witnessed what happens when shipping doesn’t run smoothly, creating inventory shortages and increasing prices that challenge businesses and consumers globally. This presents a massive opportunity to digitalize one of the last large offline industries. Through this investment and by accessing public markets for the first time, we can continue to scale the platform and provide new opportunities for the Freightos team to grow around the world.”