Tag: Europe

Bidders for Stationery Office cut down to five

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

The Stationery Office, the private company that does much of the government’s publishing including the Highway Code and Hansard, is this month expected to receive second-round offers in an auction involvingboth trade and private equity bidders.

TSO’s owner, Apax, the private equity firm, gave UBS the mandate to sell the company in April.

The investment bank has already eliminated a number of bidders that competed in the first round.

It has whittled down the list to five bidders, two trade and three private equity, according to people familiar with the situation.

One person said the bidding could go to a third round as TSO is cautious about giving too much information to trade buyers that, were they to lose the bidding battle, could use information gained through due diligence against TSO.

The company has an estimated price-tag of Pounds 120m.

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UK Royal Mail delivers over a trillion letters

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

Royal Mail announces today that it has now delivered over a trillion letters across the UK since records began in 1839.

The trillionth letter marks another milestone in the company’s history – further evidence of how Royal Mail has developed over the course of its 370-year history in response to customers’ needs.

The delivery of over a trillion letters comes as Royal Mail faces another change – to the way post will be priced with the introduction of Pricing in Proportion on 21 August, meaning that post will now be priced according to size and shape as well as weight.

Delivering a trillion letters in just 160 years is a feat in itself and Royal Mail anticipates that the need for mail will only continue to rise. Even in an age of alternative channels of communication, such as e-mail and texting, Royal Mail handles 84 million items a day – with no sign of this dropping. With the huge increase in internet shopping in recent years, and the UK’s continued reliance on the postal service, Royal Mail expects it should pass the second trillion milestone within the next 30 years.
A Royal Mail spokesperson commented: “Royal Mail has continually evolved over the last 370 years to ensure mail stays relevant to everyday life. Delivering a trillion letters is a remarkable achievement, and we are determined to continue delivering a consistently high quality service to our customers in the future.”’

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Lombard Bank takes over equity in Maltapost

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

Lombard Bank Malta plc has reached an agreement with Transend Worldwide Ltd whereby it has acquired the New Zealand company’s 35 per cent shareholding in Maltapost plc, in a move that is widely seen as paving the way for Maltapost’s diversification efforts.

In a company announcement issued on Thursday, Lombard Bank said that it considers the investment to be of strategic importance and should result in added value to the stakeholders of both the Bank and Maltapost.

The deal went through following the approval by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the transfer of shares.

The Ministry for Investment, Industry and IT welcomed the transfer and expressed its believe that, with the entry of Lombard Bank, Maltapost would see the beginning of a new and exciting phase as it would now be able to use the expertise of its new shareholders to sustain its diversification efforts aimed at strengthening its capacity to deliver on its core postal activities.

The Ministry also extended its gratitude to Transend Worldwide Ltd. for its contribution in the profound restructuring and reform carried out at Maltapost in recent years.

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Poczta Polska prepares to lose monopoly

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

The Poczta Polska postal service is preparing for the full opening of the market, which will take place at the beginning of 2009. In less than three years, it will stop having a monopoly on mail delivery. Poczta Polska Deputy Director Mariusz Wnuk says that partial access for competitors is already in place. Until last year, the postal service had a monopoly on small postal packages. In view of the full opening of the market of letters and parcels, Poczta Polska is looking for other sources of income, mostly financial services. Soon there will be cash machines at postal outlets and clients will be able to receive cash loans. Bonds will also be on sale, as will investment fund units. Poczta Polska also plans to sell PZU insurance. There are 8,000 outlets of Poczta Polska in the country. It is a huge logistics machine, with thousands of vehicles and sorting facilities, where savings must be found.

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Royal Mail Proposes Move to Zonal Pricing

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

Royal Mail has put forward a proposal to move to ‘Zonal Pricing’ from April 2007 for users of bulk mail accounts. If approved by Postcomm (Royal Mail’s Licence Regulator) the proposal will mean that the price of delivering an item of mail will vary according to where it is being delivered. Mail going to high density urban areas for instance, would cost less than mail going to low density remote areas.

In all, they propose five zones with discounts awarded to posters of mail to high density zones and surcharges made for deliveries to low density zones where delivery costs are higher than average.

The proposed changes apply to bulk mail services including Mailsort, Presstream and Walksort with the notable exception of Mailsort 1400 1st and 2nd class (which fall within the universal service obligation).

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