Deutsche Post to acquire stake in Wegener's Interlanden & form Dutch venture
Publishing group Wegener NV said it agreed to sell a majority stake in its unaddressed mail and marketing unit Interlanden BV to Deutsche Post AG’s Van Gend & Loos/Selektvracht.
In addition, Deutsche Post/Selektvracht and Wegener will start a joint venture for the delivery of addressed mail in the Netherlands. The combination of the two companies existing activities in this area will make the venture the number-two player on the Dutch market, Wegener said.
Interlanden had sales last year of about 60 mln eur and employs 450.
Financial details of the transaction were not released.
Wegener will hold a news conference at 12.30 pm.
DATAMONITOR 8th July 2002
DEUTSCHE POST: GOING DUTCH-DEUTSCHE POST IS TO ENTER A JOINT MAIL SERVICES VENTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS.
Jul 08, 2002 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) — Dutch distributor Wegener plans to start a joint venture with Deutsche Post for mail services. Incumbent operator TPG has recently voiced its confidence that liberalization in the Dutch market will not affect it, as it has the best structure with which to see off competitors. It will now have to prove it.
Deutsche Post, the German postal operator, is reportedly planning a joint mail venture with Wegener NV, which includes the majority stake holding in its Interlanden unit. Inderlanden specializes in the distribution of un-addressed materials and house-to-house newspapers.
The joint venture will primarily focus on addressed mail and will create the Netherlands’ second largest player after the Dutch operator TNT Post Group. Deutsche Post’s Dutch subsidiary Van Gend & Loos, which will own 51% of the joint venture, has commented that the excellent network capabilities and capacity to handle sufficient volumes, will make the new venture a serious alternative to TPG.
TPG currently runs a very efficient service, but it has been criticized for not passing more of the benefits realized to the consumer. This could now be the first real piece of competition that it has to face, even though the Dutch market currently has 70% complete liberalization.
Both TPG and Deutsche Post have made successful acquisitions and formed strong partnerships in the past. Deutsche Post is now directly targeting one of TPG’s core competencies on its home ground. This will require a tailored strategy and powerful marketing if the venture is to succeed. It will be very interesting to see how this joint venture unfolds and whether it can make an impact on a market that TPG currently dominate.
Related research: Datamonitor, “Consolidation in the European Logistics Industry” (BFAU0057)
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September 12, 2002 — John Kuiper, formerly the chief operating office of UPS Mail Innovations (Washington, DC), has been named general manager of a new joint venture between Deutsche Post and Van Gend & Loos Euro Express which will provide a competitive mail service to TPG’s.
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