Australia Post takes full control of StarTrack business
Australia Post has concluded its $408m deal to buy out partner Qantas from the StarTrack express parcels business. The company confirmed today that it is now sole shareholder in the firm, and also that it has finalised the transfer of its 50% stake in the Australian Air Express joint venture to Qantas.
The deal was concluded following the approval obtained from regulators at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission earlier this month.
Australia Post said that following the acquisition, StarTrack would continue to remain as a standalone company within the Group, and chief executive Stephen Cleary will remain in charge.
The StarTrack deal sees the postal operator paying Qantas $408m, part of a $2bn investment programme Australia Post is currently undertaking to revitalise and expand its parcels business with a view to securing market share in Australia’s booming ecommerce industry.
Australia Post CEO managing director said taking full control of the venture would accelerate his company’s creation of a “world class parcels network”.
He said: “The StarTrack acquisition adds significant additional capacity to Australia Post’s services, particularly in the area of express and tracked parcel services, meaning we can enhance our offer to customers, particularly our business customers.
Australia Post had been involved in the StarTrack joint venture with Qantas since 2003, although there was a reorganization of their joint ventures, including Australian Air Express, last year.
The road freight specialist Star Track Express and the air freight specialist Australian Air Express had their respective retail door-to-door retail divisions integrated to form the StarTrack business, which was launched earlier this year.
StarTrack has a 3,000-strong pick-up and delivery fleet and a network including automated freight sorting facilities on Australia’s east coast, logistics warehouses in most major cities and depots in major regional centres.
