DHL and Finland Post agree on business acquisition of Kelpo Kuljetus Fi Oy.

DHL and Finland Post have agreed on a business acquisition based on which DHL will buy out Finland Post’s 49 per cent of shares in Kelpo Kuljetus Fi Oy, the jointly owned domestic transport company, rendering Kelpokuljetus a fully-owned DHL subsidiary. This deal is subject to approval by the competition authorities.

According to the deal, Finland Post will acquire the regional transport business of Kelpokuljetus, comprising the transports from post centres to delivery post offices and customers, whereby staff responsible for regional transport services, the related equipment and customer contracts will transfer to Finland Post. These employees will join Finland Post under their current employment terms.

The linehaul transportation and terminal staff and linehaul transport fleet will remain with Kelpokuljetus, i.e. under the ownership of DHL. DHL and Finland Post will continue co-operating in linehaul transports between sorting centres.

This business acquisition was a response to several factors, including the changing market situation and the owners wishing to focus on their own businesses. The companies will also present themselves more distinctly to customers, since both operators will now use their respective brands.

“DHL wants to use its own brand both for domestic and international services on a global scale. In Finland, DHL has invested heavily in domestic transport services by developing its own terminal and delivery network, and we will see the logical continuation of this process in the encompassment of Kelpokuljetus entirely within the DHL brand and its operating procedures. The use of harmonized operating modes and production systems will enable us to implement quality control and development projects in line with our targets,” says Timo Jaakkola, DHL Express Managing Director, on the reasons for the deal.

“In the past twelve months, Finland Post Logistics has strengthened its own transport network in the Baltic Rim, and we aim to follow the same path in the home country too, by managing regional transport services via our own network,” says Vesa Vertanen, SVP, Director of Finland Post Logistics.