Deutsche Post eyes privatisation of Italian, UAE State Post Offices
German postal and logistics group Deutsche Post AG will study the possibilities to participate in the privatisation of its Italian and UAE peers, a company spokesperson said on March 4, 2005, confirming previous reports.
Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi eyes a partial privatisation of Poste Italiane within 18 months. The company more than doubled its net profit to 236 mln euro (USD309.3 mln) in 2004 on sales of 9.0 bln euro (USD11.8 bln), up 11 pct year-on-year.
The UAE state post is also considered a profitable business.
Deutsche Post has submitted a bid for 25 pct of Danish Post Danmark. A decision is expected shortly, a spokesperson for the Danish company said. Deutsche Post is considered to have the strongest position of all bidders, as it already cooperates with Post Danmark in package deliveries. Dutch TPG and financial investor CVC Capital Partners are also among the bidders.
German media commented that Deutsche Post is clearly stepping up its expansion, despite a reported setback in Belgium. Belgian financial sector sources said that Deutsche Post had not submitted a bid for local postal services company La Poste/De Post. The news has not been confirmed by either the Belgian or the German company, but sector experts said it was likely, in view of the transfer of logistics company DHL’s hub from Brussels to Leipzig, affecting thousands of jobs. DHL is a unit of Deutsche Post.
Furthermore, the Belgian 100 pct state-owned postal services provider is considered to be in need of restructuring. A consortium including French La Poste and TPG is bidding for the company.
Deutsche Post is seen as a possible buyer in the logistics sector also. The German group is seen to bid against U.S. package delivery concern UPS for British logistics firm Exel Plc. A Deutsche Post spokesperson declined to comment, but analysts warned that if the German group is forced to acquire Exel for strategic reasons, like preventing UPS from buying the business, the high price of the deal might weigh on the value of the company’s stock.
