DPWN takes further step towards privatisation
Deutsche Post took a further step towards full privatisation yesterday with the news that one of its biggest state owned investors has sold €2bn of its stake in the company. Up until yesterday Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), the state bank for reconstruction, held a 48.3% stake in DPWN, while the German government holds a further 20%. The sale will reduce the German state’s holding in the company to about 56% with KfW’s stake falling to 36%. Last month the German government sold down its holding from 50% by transferring 30% of DPWN’s shares to KfW.
The company issued a statement by Deutsche Post’s CEO, Klaus Zumwinkel, welcoming the sale. However stock markets reacted badly to the news and the share price fell by over 5% as investors reacted to the dilutive effect of the increased number of shares in the market.
The privatisation of DPWN will have many benefits for the company. Over the past few years DPWN has come under increasing criticism over its use of public money to fund its aggressive development strategy. This has been one of the key arguments used by its competitors in the US in an attempt to prevent it consolidating its position in the market. The Indian government has also blocked its development in its market. Management will hope that once the company is fully privatised – and that could be by 2007 – it will enjoy greater operational freedom.
