DPWN: Trans-O-Flex Takeover Blocked

Deutsche Post said on Monday it would appeal a cartel office order blocking its takeover of express delivery group trans-o-flex and would retain operational control over the firm until a final ruling on its appeal. A spokesman for the German post office operator said the order from the cartel office was expected following an earlier ‘hold-and-separate’ order on September 27 which was intended to prevent trans-o-flex being forced out of business pending a final decision on the case in the courts. In a statement on Monday, the cartel office said the acquisition of trans-o-flex would give Deutsche Post a dominant position in the market for parcel deliveries and ordered it to sell its existing stake in trans-o-flex. A spokesman for Deutsche Post said the appeal process was likely to last several years, but it would be allowed to retain managerial control over trans-o-flex until a final decision is made. Deutsche Post argues that its parcel delivery business differs from that of trans-o-flex, which specialises in mass deliveries and electronic business settlement services. Deutsche Post, which owns 24.8 percent of trans-o-flex, the sixth largest express delivery firm in Germany, agreed to buy the remaining 75.2 percent from a subsidiary of the Bayerische Landesbank.