Belgian De Post/La Poste buy majority interest in MSI

MSI Worldwide Mail has announced that Belgian Post operator De Post – La Poste has purchased a majority of MSI’s outstanding shares. De Post – La Poste will, through its business unit Belgian Post International, partner with MSI to further expand its retail operations in the US and worldwide.

The new relationship, which comes after a record-breaking sales and profit year for MSI, will allow MSI to further invest in additional operations, equipment and strategic acquisition opportunities.

“We are extremely excited about this new relationship,” said Richard Gerhardt, President and COO, MSI Worldwide Mail. “With the extensive knowledge, resources and experience of a major European postal administration like Belgium Post, we look to further grow our business, domestically and internationally, using a streamlined, cost-effective sales and operations platform.”

Christopher Taylor, CEO added: “Having Belgian Post as a strategic partner provides MSI with the global resources necessary to further strengthen our position in North America and expand our service offering. Moreover, the new relationship will allow additional investment in technology and product offerings to meet client demands in the coming decade.”

MSI will continue to operate as MSI Worldwide Mail and be managed by founding partners Richard Gerhardt and Christopher Taylor for at least the next five years. All current senior management positions will remain unchanged.

MSI will continue to operate with full autonomy, giving MSI the ability to use distribution vendors and postal administrations of its choice.

MSI Worldwide Mail, headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, is a three and a half year-old mail and parcel distribution company with projected sales of $35m in 2010. Owners and senior staff have more than 100 years of combined experience in the international mail and parcel distribution industry.

Belgian Post International (BPI) is a business unit of the Belgian postal operator De Post – La Poste and manages international mail and parcel distribution, providing excellent and profitable services to customers in Belgium and abroad. BPI doubled its turnover the last 5 years and is today a top 5 world player in terms of quality and size.

Peter Somers, member of the Executive Committee of De Post – La Poste and in charge of Belgian Post International, stated: “This partnership provides us with the opportunity to reinforce our future growth in foreign markets. Belgian Post International has acquired a great deal of experience and know-how in recent years and through this deal we will now further expand our business in the US retail market.”

BPI manages international mail and parcel distribution for the Belgian Post service (De Post/La Poste), providing excellent and profitable services to customers in Belgium and abroad. BPI is dedicated to providing a range of international mail and parcel services whose excellence is universally recognised by the customers of De Post/La Poste.