European Commission unconditionally approves FedEx’s intended acquisition of TNT Express
FedEx and TNT have announced that they have obtained the “unconditional approval” of the European Commission in connection with FedEx’s intended purchase of TNT Express. After its investigation, the European Commission has concluded that the deal does not raise any competition concerns.
“We are extremely pleased to receive the European Commission’s unconditional approval,” said David Binks, Regional President Europe, FedEx Express. “We believe the combination of TNT Express and FedEx will provide significant value to the employees, customers and shareholders of both companies.”
FedEx and TNT Express added that they are continuing to work with the regulatory authorities to obtain clearance of the transaction in the remaining jurisdictions, including Brazil and China. The two companies reported that they are “making timely progress and continue to anticipate that the Offer will close in the first half of calendar year 2016”.
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The European Commission has also published its own statement regarding its approval of FedEx’s acquisition of TNT.
The EC statement quoted Margrethe Vestager, the Commissioner in charge of competition policy, as saying: “Many businesses and consumers rely heavily on affordable and reliable small package delivery services, in particular with the growth of e-commerce. Therefore, the Commission has thoroughly assessed the markets affected by this takeover. The conclusion is that European consumers will not be adversely affected by the transaction. We have therefore unconditionally approved the merger.”
Importantly, the EC said it “found that DHL and UPS will compete effectively with the merged entity after the transaction and that the takeover will allow the business to be run more efficiently due to network cost savings”.
Click here to see the full text of the EC statement.
