Global Posts Launch Venture Capital Operations

“Three of Europe’s largest national postal services are stepping up their venture capital activities as they jostle to retain a leading role in a once plodding old industry. ‘New technologies are creating new business opportunities,’ says Martin Vial, chairman of France’s state-owned postal monopoly, La Poste. ‘If we don’t take part in this business, someone else will.’ Mr. Vial says his company, which is also one of France’s largest providers of banking services, has already earmarked more than 1.1 billion euros (US$1 billion) this year for new investments to pursue its strategy of diversification in France and abroad. Last week he said he was seeking financial partners for a new venture capital fund to invest in Internet and e-commerce ventures. Germany’s Deutsche Post AG, privatized last year and listed on the Frankfurt stock market, has already established its own 50 million euro corporate venture capital fund, Deutsche Post Ventures. And the Netherland’s TPG — formerly known as TNT Post Group — which is also now a publicly traded company, last month committed 100 million euros to a corporate venture fund called LogiSpring, aimed at backing young technology companies in the logistics sector. Pressured by deregulation and sensing opportunity, La Poste, Deutsche Post and TPG are all making ambitious New Economy plans. La Poste, for example, recently set up a business division aimed at bringing small and medium French businesses online. The division offers an integrated e-commerce service provider that will manage a company’s Internet site, run the online payments system and then deliver the goods, through La Poste, once the transaction is completed.

“La Poste is already a major player in the highly competitive French financial services industry, with 27 million retail banking clients. It also is making a stab at offering Internet services with its own portal and some 500,000 consumers signed up for e-mail service.” The article states: “It isn’t just the Internet that is driving the pace of change among the large continental European postal services. All three are under threat at home from European Union plans that could result in throwing open national postal monopolies to full competition, even for letters. As a result, all three are targeting their new investments as much at building up their international presence as at bolstering their New Economy credentials.”
Postal Insight