Glenn sells company that made him rich

Owen Glenn. Photo / Greg Bowker

Wealthy New Zealand philanthropist Owen Glenn has sold the company he founded, OTS Logistics Group, to a London-based private equity group.

OTS is a provider of logistics services and had a turnover of more than US$700 million in 2010.

Based in Los-Angeles, it operates in more than 100 countries and has at least 2800 employees.

Glenn, who is over 70 and lives in Monaco, was confident that OTS "will continue to go from strength to strength" after the sale.

"I am pleased we have reached an agreement with Man Capital, who recognise the success we've achieved and the great potential within the business," he said in a statement.

He could not be reached for further comment yesterday.

Glenn is famous for his philanthropy and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2008.

In 2002, he gave $7.5 million to the University of Auckland Business School and they named a new building after him.

In 2010 he gave $3.85 million to the Millennium sporting institute, which named an aquatic centre after him.

He is the founder and chairman of Glenn Family Foundation, a charitable group active in several countries including the US, UK, Australia, India, Nepal, Philippines, Fiji, China and New Zealand.

In the 2011 National Business Review Rich List, said he was estimated to be worth $900 million.

Glenn was born in Calcutta and sent to a Catholic boarding school in the Darjeeling region. Moving to New Zealand at 11, he attended Mt Roskill Grammar but left at age 15.

Surprisingly - given his lifelong passion for this country and the amount he's put back in to it - New Zealand was not a land of opportunity for him. His big breaks came in Australia and the UK and he sent himself to Harvard University.

Spending a large portion of his time overseas, his philanthropic work regularly takes him to Asia and the Pacific.

OTS was created by a merger between Direct Container Line - which Glenn founded in 1978 - and Brennan International and Conterm Consolidation Services.

OTS was bought by Man Capital - a private equity group founded in 2010.

Man Capital is wholly owned by the Mansour Group, which has more than 38,000 staff in the Middle East, Russia and Africa.

It operates across a wide range of sectors, including heavy equipment, automotive, and consumer and financial services.

Man Capital's chief operations officer Peter Combe said OTS held a leading market position.

"As a long-term shareholder, we looked forward to helping OTS in its next stage of growth," Combe said.

According to a press statement, Man Capital seeks to become a majority investor in private and public companies, investing in and working with management to create market sector leaders.

OTS chief executive Charlie Brennan - who will stay on after the acquisition - said the company was excited to be working with "such a strong business partner".

"With the backing of Man Capital, there is a great opportunity to broaden our international footprint and the scope of services we can offer our clients, whilst continuing to provide the high levels of service expected to us," Brennan said.