In an effort to increase its presence in Canada as well as in the health care sector, UPS Logistics Group today announced its fifth acquisition this year: the purchase of a pair of related companies that provide logistics and supply-chain management services to users in industries such as consumer products and pharmaceuticals.
UPS Logistics, a supply-chain subsidiary of Atlanta-based United Parcel Services of America Inc., said it had signed an agreement to buy Livingston Inc. in Oakville, Ontario, and Livingston Healthcare Services Inc. in Newark, Del. Terms of the deal, which is expected to be completed in October, weren't disclosed.
Livingston runs 22 distribution centers throughout Canada, while Livingston Healthcare Services operates six distribution facilities in the U.S. In a separate but related deal, however, Livingston plans to sell four of its Canadian operations to Lynden International Logistics Co., a Seattle-based provider of logistics services.
Even with the divestment of those facilities, UPS Logistics CEO Dan DiMaggio said in a statement that the acquisition of Livingston "will give us a coast-to-coast network of distribution facilities" in Canada along with the Canadian company's management team and technology setup.
Ting Piper, an analyst at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., said the latest acquisition is consistent with a UPS strategy that's designed to expand the company's global presence and to widen the kind of services that the package carrier offers to its customers. Companies "more and more are looking for a portfolio of services" from carriers such as UPS, rather than just package deliveries, she added.