UPS wants U.S DOT to examine DHL's purchase of Airborne

United Parcel Service Inc. has asked the government to investigate the planned acquisition of Airborne Inc. by German postal service Deutsche Post AG’s DHL express mail arm.

Atlanta-based UPS said Wednesday in a filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation that the $1.05 billion deal reached Tuesday raises questions about the degree of control that Deutsche Post is able to exert on the domestic express package and cargo market.

Also Thursday, the union representing 489 DHL pilots took issue with comments made by one of the shipping company’s top executives.

Capt. James Bonney, chairman of the DHL unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, said John Fellows, chief executive of DHL Holdings Inc., said some DHL business might be diverted to Airborne.

That would be a violation of the pilots’ collective bargaining agreement, Bonney said.

Deutsche Post, Europe’s biggest mail company, agreed to pay $21.25 a share under the takeover agreement, which excludes Seattle-based Airborne’s aircraft unit. The deal is subject to regulatory review.

Partially privatized Deutsche Post has long sought a foothold in the United States and said Airborne, the No. 3 overnight package delivery service in the United States, completes its international network.

The company said Airborne’s airline will be renamed ABX Air and remain in the hands of its existing shareholders because of U.S. laws prohibiting foreign control of domestic airlines.

But UPS, the world’s largest shipping carrier, said the government should look into whether Deutsche Post means what it says on the ABX Air issue. It is calling for a public hearing.

“UPS urges that the department’s review of this transaction be transparent, with all interested parties being able to review and comment on all relevant documents and other information pertinent to the substance of the transaction,” UPS’ filing says.