Deutsche Post expanding onto French mail market with acquisition of French mail service provider Koba

Deutsche Post expanding onto French mail market – Acquisition of the French mail service provider Koba
Deutsche Post has acquired a majority share of the French mail service provider Koba with headquarters in Chilly-Mazarin near Paris. With this acquisition, Deutsche Post is consistently pursuing the strategic expansion of its activities on domestic mail markets and is establishing an excellent starting platform for entry onto the French mail market.
Koba is the leading specialist for direct marketing and mail solutions in France. This includes the complete processing of business mail—from data import all the way to printing, enveloping and pre-sorting—as well as direct marketing and address management tailored to customers’ needs. Koba generated revenue of approximately EUR 50 million in the 2003 business year with 500 employees. Founded in 1976, the company has a total of six production facilities in France. Among it´s customers are well-known companies like Air France, Crédit Agricole, Metro and Quelle.
Klaus Knappik, Chairman of the Mail International Divisional Board at Deutsche Post World Net, says: “The acquisition of Koba is yet another milestone in our international mail strategy, which enables us to offer our customers high-quality mail services in France.” Gilles-André Ioset, managing director of Koba, comments: “The partnership with Deutsche Post opens up entirely new international perspectives for us. As globalization increases, our customers in France are demanding more and more international solutions. Together we will optimally fulfill these requirements.”
Deutsche Post World Net is already active in the cross-border letter mail business around the world with its subsidiary Global Mail and is increasingly represented on domestic mail markets – in the US, UK, Netherlands and Spain – as well.