Kuehne+Nagel has agreed to a long-term collaboration with Amazon covering the infrastructure lifecycle of Amazon Web Services data centers, from construction and equipment deployment to maintenance, upgrades and expansion. The deal is backed by a call option on existing Kuehne+Nagel shares that Amazon can settle in cash or stock, vesting on commercial milestones over up to seven years. Kuehne+Nagel has arranged a third-party financial institution to hedge the share transactions.
The companies said the collaboration is meant to strengthen supply chain resilience, scalability and operational efficiency for AWS's cloud infrastructure expansion.
Kuehne+Nagel shares rose 5.2% on the announcement, their largest gain since March, Transport Topics reported. No dollar figures were disclosed.
DHL Supply Chain built a dedicated data-center logistics operation in North America this spring, calling it a “first major step,” then extended the model to Asia Pacific in June, adding 130,000 square meters in Malaysia and Thailand to assemble and install server racks. FedEx named data centers a priority vertical this summer when it agreed to sell its supply chain unit to CMA CGM’s CEVA Logistics.
“We are setting the foundation for a new level of customer service commitment at a global scale for Amazon,” Kuehne+Nagel CEO Stefan Paul said.
Vontobel analyst Michael Foeth said the deal shows Kuehne+Nagel’s position in data-center logistics is “strong and growing.”
