Deutsche Post has announced that it will restructure its network of outlets by closing up to 200 of its own post offices and by converting them into postal agencies based at retail outlets. Management highlights that the restructuring will not entail redundancies.
Read MoreExel PLC, the UK logistics group, said a scheme of arrangement that will see it taken over by Deutsche Post AG in an agreed 5.5 bln eur (3.7 bln stg) takeover has been approved at a court meeting and by its shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting. In addition, Exel said the US Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the pre-merger waiting period applicable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Read MoreDeutsche Post AG said it is unaware of a reported decision by the US antitrust authorities to clear its proposed acquisition of UK logistics group Exel PLC.
The US Federal Trade Commission said in a notice posted on its website yesterday that US antitrust authorities had closed their review of the transaction without taking any action to block the deal, according to a news agency report. A spokesman for Deutsche Post said it expects to hear of the US antitrust decision in due course, but that it has not yet received any formal notification.
Deutsche Post’s logistics division DHL has shown strong performance in the first nine months of 2005, with a 15.6% increase in turnover to EUR5.7bn (USD6.6bn) and operating profits of EUR221m, up 79.7% year-on-year. ‘We have consistently and successfully continued our global strategy and after completing the acquisition of Exel we will be the leading logistics provider worldwide,’ chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel said. Of the logistics division’s turnover, DP’s freight business DHL Danzas Air ‘ Ocean contributed some EUR4.1bn, up 14.1%.
Read MoreTNT has taken note of the Council of Ministers’ decision to request advice from the Council of State regarding the proposal for a new postal act. In light of the proposed full liberalisation of the postal market in the Netherlands, the present Dutch Postal Act will need to be amended. TNT is a proponent of postal liberalisation, provided a level playing field is created in Europe. According to the Postal Memorandum, liberalisation in the Netherlands will have to keep in step with the rate of liberalisation and actual competitive opportunities in Germany and the United Kingdom. TNT has established that a level playing field does not exist at present. Compared to Royal Mail and Deutsche Post, new entrants to the UK and German postal markets are still disadvantaged by the VAT system. Other issues include licensing conditions, anti-competitive regulation of network access and rates, and market obstruction by both national postal companies. These problems do not exist in the Dutch market, which means that competition is already developing rapidly.
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