British Post Office acquires Polish delivery company
Britain’s Post Office has acquired a 25.1% stake in Polish parcel-delivery company Szybka Paczka Spolka from Therab, a Dutch logistics group.
The deal, while relatively paltry at $4.3 million, allows the Post Office to enter the Eastern European market.
Szybka Paczka is a member of Germany’s General Parcel network, which is controlled by German Parcel, a Post Office subsidiary acquired for around $435 million in 1999. Szybka Paczka has a central hub and 16 depots across Poland.
“The Polish parcel market is set to develop rapidly over the next few years and this deal highlights our aim to become one of the top complete distribution companies in Europe with global reach,” said Jerry Cope, the Post Office’s group managing director for strategy.
The Post Office is expected to make further acquisitions this year to catch up with rival European postal authorities like Germany’s Deutsche Post and the Netherlands’ TPG, which have spent billions of dollars expanding into parcel and express delivery, forwarding and logistics.
