A conference, a home visit and a few trips to Paris brought about the marriage of U.S.-based XPO Logistics Inc and France's Norbert Dentressangle SA that will allow XPO to replicate its domestic success in Europe. The $3.53-billion deal gives XPO access to Europe's largest truck-fleet network, made up of 7,700 owned trucks, 3,200 under contract, and 12,000 independent carriers. This would make the combined company the world's second-largest freight brokerage firm by net revenue, just behind C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. Even so, XPO Chief Executive Bradley Jacobs said he sees opportunities to grab more market share in Europe, given the sheer size of the continent. "(Norbert) has opened up about the kind of acquisitions they were planning to do before we appeared and we have a list of targets that we can go after in Europe," Jacobs told Reuters, without providing details. XPO has grown to over $3 billion in market capitalization from $173 million in 2011, when Jacobs took control, as it sought to be a one-stop shop in U.S. transportation logistics, largely through acquisitions. Jacobs said the time was right to expand in Europe. "Our view on Europe is, it had a tough last few years, it has bottomed out, it seems to be improving and it's a real good time to get in." A strong dollar .DXY, which has risen about 6 percent against a basket of currencies this year, has made European transactions about 20 percent cheaper now compared with last year, Jacobs said. FedEx Corp took advantage of the dollar in timing its deal to buy Dutch package delivery firm TNT Express for $4.8 billion earlier this month. Norbert's business largely complements XPO's contract logistics unit, which assembles goods in warehouses before delivery, Jacobs said. XPO entered that business in September 2014 and has sought to beef it up, considering "that there are significant barriers to entry (and) relationships with customers are usually deep and long-term." The company had cash and equivalents of about $1.1 billion as of Feb. 23. It also raised $700 million in September to spend on acquisitions. (Reuters)