CVC Capital Partners buys 22 percent stake in Denmark’s postal service

The Danish government said Wednesday it had sold a 22 percent stake in national postal service Post Danmark A/S to investment company CVC Capital Partners for 1.27 billion kroner (EUR171 million; USD210 million).

Germany’s Deutsche Post and Dutch company TPG NV had previously said they were among the bidders.

Another 2.5 percent of the stakes were made available for an employee share program for Post Danmark’s nearly 22,000 employees. An additional 0.5 per cent will be reserved for an incentive program for senior staff of Post Danmark. The Danish state keeps the remaining stake.

“I’m confident that CVC Capital Partners will add extra momentum to Post Danmark’s development as an international operator,” Transport Minister Flemming Hansen said in a statement.

The sale is part of a larger government privatization plan that also includes the sale of stakes in Denmark’s national broadcasters TV2.

In 1993, Girobank, the postal service’s banking system, became the first state-owned company to be sold to private investors.