Tag: Deutsche Post

Swiss Post International acquires German-based GPD

Posted by | Jul 22, 2008 | |

Swiss Post International (SPI), the international Group unit of Swiss Post, has taken over Global Press Distribution GmbH (GPD) in Germany. With this acquisition, SPI is consolidating its position in the German export press market, the largest in Europe. GPD has a staff of 31 and generated sales of CHF 8 million in 2007.
The acquisition of Global Press Distribution GmbH (GPD) by Swiss Post International (SPI) will take effect retroactively to 1 January 2008. It was agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed. GPD, whose registered office is in Moerfelden near Frankfurt, provides services connected with the international and national dispatch of magazines. Its customers in Germany include publishers, printers, lettershops and other service providers in the publishing industry. With a workforce of 31, GPD generated sales equivalent to CHF 8 million francs in 2007.
With this acquisition SPI is reinforcing its position in the export press business. The German press market is the biggest in Europe, with 400 newspapers and 200 magazine publications. By entering this market, Swiss Post is pursuing its strategy of establishing itself in international niche markets. Swiss Post now already generates 20 percent of its sales abroad and in its cross-border business. SPI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss Post and currently employs 1,200 people in eleven European countries, five major cities in Asia and in the USA. SPI is now number five on the cross-border letters market after Deutsche Post, United States Postal Service, the UK’s Royal Mail and France’s La Poste.

Read More

Deutsche Post in no rush to sell Postbank: CFO

Posted by | Jul 19, 2008 | |

eutsche Post is in no rush to sell its 50 percent plus one share stake in Deutsche Postbank, Post’s finance chief was quoted on Saturday as saying.

“If the management board would reach the conclusion that the time to sell is bad then we are under no pressure to sell,” Chief Financial Officer John Allen told German financial daily Boersen-Zeitung.

Post was still in talks with a small number of prospective buyers but it was impossible to say when or whether a sale of Postbank would happen, he told the newspaper.

According to sources familiar with the matter, prospective buyers of Germany’s biggest retail bank with nearly 15 million customers could include Deutsche Bank, Banco Santander of Spain and Dutch ING Group NV.

The recent fall in share prices of financial companies around the world — Postbank has lost a quarter of its market value since early June — has led analysts to doubt whether Post can obtain the kind of price it wants for its Postbank stake.

Read More

A long and stony road to European postal competition

Posted by | Jul 18, 2008 | |

Following full liberalisation in four European countries (UK, Germany, Sweden and Finland), about 54 pct of the total EU mail market in volume terms is now completely open to competition, Alex Dieke, head of Postal Services and Logistics for German-based market research institute wik-Consult, told last month’s World Mail & Express Europe conference in Budapest organised by Triangle Management Services. But experience from these four liberalised markets showed that “it will take a long time for effective competition to arrive”, he commented. In the long-term, competitors might be able to gain up to 20-25 pct of larger markets, he forecast.

In Britain, which liberalised in 2006, competitors such as UK Mail and TNT Post had gained a 10 pct market share in terms of “upstream” volumes collected from customers but there was still no major competitor to Royal Mile for “last-mile” deliveries to businesses and consumers, Dieke said. In Sweden, where the market was opened in 1993, competitor CityMail still only had about 10 pct of the market. In Finland, which liberalised in 1997, high entry barriers meant there was no real competitor to Itella. In the Netherlands, which along with Slovakia might open its market before the official EU-wide liberalisation date of January 2011, competitors Selektmail and Sandd had gained 12 pct of the market despite TNT’s remaining monopoly, he noted.

Iain McLure, CEO of Spring Global Mail, criticised European postal operators for the repeated delays to liberalisation in recent years. “How long does the postal sector need to get prepared for competition?” he asked. In future, postal operators would have to focus on offering products in line with customer demand, better customer service and opportunities to achieve cost savings, the experienced postal manger forecast.

Spring, the TNT/Royal Mail/Singapore Post subsidiary, regularly used alternatives to national postal operators in some markets in order to provide quality services and lower costs, McLure pointed out. But he stressed: “As a broker, we are more of a customer (to postal operators) than a competitor.” Spring had been profitable for the past eight years, he noted.

Read More

Deutsche Bank unlikely to let Postbank get away

Posted by | Jul 17, 2008 | |

After missing out on one rare opportunity to expand in its domestic market, Deutsche Bank is unlikely to let another chance go begging, analysts believe.

Until recently, three retail banking operations were on the block in Germany creating an unprecedented opportunity for consolidation in a market dominated by state-owned savings banks.

That leaves Deutsche Postbank and the Dresdner Bank unit of Allianz (as the remaining options for any local player looking to expand.

Dresdner has long been linked to a deal with Commerzbank talks between the two have reportedly been stepped up in recent weeks, leaving Postbank as Deutsche Bank’s likely best bet for growth.

Deutsche Bank has performed better than many of its European rival in the credit crunch, still CEO Josef Ackermann is under pressure to diversify away from investment banking and build up its retail banking arm.

Ackermann has indicated Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, is interested, saying back in February he would be willing to discuss a deal. But the question of price has been seen as a potential sticking point.

“Market rumors indicate Deutsche Bank has offered eight or nine billion euros (USD 12.7 billion to USD14.3 billion) for Postbank, while Deutsche Post is asking for at least 10 billion euros,” Koagne said.

Natixis’ Koagne said Deutsche Post could also be willing to lower its demands now that there are few other potential bidders.
That’s especially true since Postbank’s capitalization appears weak compared with its European rivals, raising the threat it would have to seek fresh capital if Deutsche Post decides to wait a while before selling, he added.

Read More

Postbank drops the most in trading with concerns over sale (GER)

Posted by | Jul 16, 2008 | |

Deutsche Postbank AG dropped the most in six months in Frankfurt trading on concern the company’s sale may be delayed.
Bonn-based Postbank declined 3.68 euros, or 7.3 percent, to 46.77 euros. The stock fell as much as 9.9 percent earlier in the day, the biggest drop since the initial public offering in June 2004, valuing the bank at 7.67 billion euros (USD 12.2 billion).
“In order to receive a satisfying price, we would consider it rational for Deutsche Post to postpone the selling process without a feasible German buyer right now,” Carsten Werle, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Sal. Oppenheim, wrote to investors. He lowered his recommendation on the stock to “reduce” from “buy.”
Deutsche Bank AG, a likely buyer, faces “unreasonable economic terms” in the current environment to raise financing for the acquisition, Werle said. A takeover of Postbank and the high cost would dilute Deutsche Bank earning by as much as 22 percent, Werle estimates. Deutsche Post, Europe’s biggest postal service, said on June 25 it is holding “exploratory” talks about a sale of its majority stake in Postbank.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest