FEMSA Completes the Divestiture of Logistics Operations to Grupo Traxion

As part of its broader strategic realignment, Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. or FEMSA FMX has successfully completed the divestiture of a substantial portion of its logistics operations conducted under the Solistica brand to Grupo Traxión, S.A.B. de C.V., a leading transportation and logistics provider in Mexico. The transaction, first disclosed on Oct. 10, 2024, is valued at 4,040 million Mexican pesos on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

The deal includes FEMSA’s transportation management operations in Mexico, along with its contract logistics operations across Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. It excludes the company’s less-than-truckload (LTL) operations in Brazil. This move represents a significant step in FMX’s portfolio restructuring, enabling the company to focus more intently on its core businesses and long-term strategic priorities.

FEMSA's recent divestiture of its logistics arm, Solistica, marks a pivotal strategic move that aligns with its long-term goals of portfolio optimization and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) excellence. By offloading non-core assets, the company reinforces its focus on high-margin retail and beverage operations, while Traxión strengthens its scale and capabilities in Latin America’s logistics sector. The transaction also highlights how ESG alignment can drive value creation for both companies.

FEMSA Forward Strategy: Boosting Core Operations & Unlocking Value

The divestiture is part of the company’s broader FEMSA Forward strategy, launched in early 2023, which is focused on driving long-term value across its core business units  Retail (including Health), Coca-Cola FEMSA and Digital@FEMSA while actively exploring strategic alternatives for non-core assets. Since introducing the strategy, FEMSA has significantly streamlined its portfolio by reducing its stake in Heineken to a minimal level, merging Envoy Solutions with BradyIFS while retaining a minority interest, and selling its refrigeration and food service equipment businesses  Imbera and Torrey  to a private equity firm. Additionally, the company divested its plastics solutions operations, further sharpening its focus on core growth areas.

These restructuring efforts enable FEMSA to redeploy capital toward high-growth areas, especially within its Retail division. Core to this strategy is the expansion of its OXXO convenience store network, which now exceeds 1,000 stores in Mexico, and the continued rollout of new formats like Bara and coffee drive-thrus. Internationally, FEMSA is rapidly scaling its Proximity operations across South America, surpassing 500 OXXO stores in Brazil and nearing that milestone in Colombia. In the United States, the acquisition of 249 Delek convenience stores marked a strategic entry into the North American market and aligns with FEMSA’s goal of building a diversified, high-return retail footprint.

In parallel, FEMSA continues to scale its digital and fintech platforms under the Digital@FEMSA umbrella. The company’s digital wallet, Spin by OXXO and its loyalty program, Spin Premia, have shown strong momentum, reaching 13.8 million and 55.7 million active users, respectively, by the end of first-quarter 2025. With Spin by OXXO now fully authorized as a fintech in Mexico, FMX is poised to further deepen customer engagement and unlock cross-platform synergies across its ecosystem.

Despite the company's strategic progress under its FEMSA Forward plan, several challenges continue to weigh on its performance. Soft consumer demand in Mexico, particularly in core consumption categories like beverages and tobacco, has led to declining store traffic and margin compression in the Proximity Americas segment. Additionally, broader cost pressures from inflation, rising labor expenses and raw material inflation are straining profitability across key divisions, including Proximity Europe and the Coca-Cola FEMSA bottling business. These headwinds, coupled with increasing competitive intensity and heavy reliance on Coca-Cola trademark products, pose risks to sustainable margin expansion and earnings visibility.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company have gained 2.6% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 4.3%.

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