John Williams, managing director of Maritime Group, says the takeover of DHL's loss-making UK container business is a deal "that really makes sense from Maritime's point of view".
The Felixstowe container specialist will take control of DHL Container Logistics on 1 January - on a "cash-free, debt-free" basis - creating the country's largest container haulier.
Although Williams acknowledges there is work to do in order to return the business to profit, he believes this can be achieved in the first half of 2010.
He says: "It's a loss-making company so we have some pressure to resolve that situation as soon as possible.
"But the integration will happen at the quietest time of the year for us so we can put all our efforts into it."
There will inevitably be some redundancies given the overlap in terms of depots - for instance their trucks park side by side at both Southampton and Liverpool - but Williams stresses that he is anxious to retain quality employees.
As well as an improvement in the facilities available to the business - notably at Felixstowe and Trafford Park - the deal sees Maritime attract new customers like shipping lines Maersk and Hanjin Shipping, which will provide additional critical mass for the combined business.
For Williams, though, there's added interest as he takes control of a firm where he was previously managing director during its days as Russell Davies.
"I left home aged 18 in 1976 and joined Russell Davies where I became MD. That was sold in 1995 to Securicor [and later to DHL] and here I am going into 2010 as owner of the business. It has a nice twist to it," he adds.