CEVA Logistics has signed a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Gruppo PIR, La Petrolifera Italo Rumena S.p.A, for the sale of Spedizioni Internazionali Trasporti Terrestri Aerei e Marittimi S.r.l.(SITTAM), an international groupage business, based in Cornaredo (Milan), Italy. The transaction is supported by Sittam’s management.

Sittam’s head office is in Cornaredo, near Milan, with nine branch offices throughout Italy. Sittam has strong coverage in Europe through regular services and a network of agents in most countries, including Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Turkey and Eastern Europe.

While Sittam was part of TNT when the latter was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2006 (and later renamed CEVA Logistics), Sittam continued to operate under its own brand under the umbrella of CEVA’s market-leading logistics business in Italy, collaborating on mutual business opportunities.

“Sittam has an excellent reputation in its market,” said Xavier Urbain, CEVA chief executive officer. “Within the environment  which Gruppo PIR will provide, Sittam’s management team has the commitment and experience to take the company to the next level. In the context of the strategy CEVA introduced last year, Sittam’s business was identified as non-core and we recognised that  Sittam’s continued success would be stronger under new ownership. With PIR, we have found a respected partner and we look forward to continuing to work with Sittam as opportunities arise. We want to express our appreciation to the management team of Sittam under the leadership of Giuseppe del Ciampo and Stefano Palmieri and to the staff for their valued contributions to CEVA.”

Completion of the transaction is expected at the end of April 2015.