THE POST OFFICE BUYS US BASED CITIPOST
The Post Office today said it had acquired a 100 per cent holding in Citipost Group, the New York based document delivery company which has operations in Europe and North America.
The acquisition reinforces The Post Office’s position within the US market, and its aim to become one of the leading global suppliers of international mailing services.
Jerry Cope, The Post Office’s Group Managing Director of Strategy, said: “Citipost provides an excellent fit with the way we have developed our operations throughout the US and worldwide. Our strategy is to make investments, when necessary, to enhance services for all our customers. Citipost will substantially improve our delivery capability, providing customers with a greater choice of products.”
Citipost was jointly owned by two shareholders. Set up in 1991, it has expanded to provide express next day document delivery services in the central business districts of major US cities. It has offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and sub-contracted arrangements covering another 155 US locations. Additionally, the company has operations in Canada, Europe and the Pacific Rim, providing a global delivery capability.
Hugh Fitzwilliam-Lay, President of Citipost, said: “We were looking for a partner who would allow us to continue our rapid growth and further expand our penetration of the time sensitive delivery market. The Post Office and its US based company Royal Mail US Inc provides us with a link to one of the world’s most important mailing companies. There are clear synergies between the way The Post Office is developing and the particular market expertise that we can provide.”
The Post Office is investing around £25million to acquire the company. Completion of the acquisition is subject to competition authorities regulatory approval.
Commenting on this figure, John Modd, Managing Director of Post Office International Services, said: “For sometime we have been aware of the development potential of Citipost. This acquisition will benefit all our global operations throughout Europe and North America. As the international mail market continues to develop, postal companies must be able to offer choice and alternatives to their customers. Working with Citipost we will be able to do this, maintaining and improving our world class mailing service”.
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