Tag: Europe

New Express Couriers joint venture in Australia

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

New Zealand Post announced that it has formed Express Couriers Australia Pty Limited (ECA), a 50:50 joint venture with Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), for the ownership and operation of express courier businesses in Australia. Effective 1 July 2008, the arrangement builds on the success since 2005 of a similar joint venture in New Zealand between DPWN’s express unit DHL Express, and New Zealand Post.

The New Zealand Post-DHL Express structure in Australia encompasses six complementary businesses in metropolitan and regional markets in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The businesses include Couriers Please, Parcel Overnight Direct and Northern Kope Parcel Express, three businesses under New Zealand Post ownership. The other businesses to make up the joint venture are: PEP Transport, VicFast Couriers and Hills Transport.

The new structure is called Express Couriers Australia Pty limited (ECA). It will be governed and managed separately from the shareholders’ other Australian interests. The six businesses will be interconnected to form an express courier network with coverage of more than 80 pct of Australia’s populated area, although within their markets the businesses will continue to operate as stand-alone operations.

New Zealand Post Group Chief Executive John Allen said formation of the ECA network is “a very positive step for both shareholders, for each of the businesses involved, and for their customers”.

Mr Allen said the structure gives New Zealand Post 50 pct ownership of a substantial business group in Australia, alongside DHL the world’s leading express and logistics provider. Total shareholders’ investment in ECA is around NZD 140 million. New Zealand Post and DHL Express have completed a series of transactions between them and with other parties to form ECA.

1 USD = 1.31788 NZD

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Canada Post Proposed Changes Impact eBay Media Sellers

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

eBay Canada posted an announcement to let sellers know about proposed new specifications and pricing for Oversize Lettermail from Canada Post. The changes could spell significantly higher costs for media sellers and others who ship within Canada.

The Canadian postal service is proposing significant price increase for “Irregular” Oversize Lettermail, a new designation for items that are thick and rigid, or thick and have box-like edges. The effective date of the proposed changes is January 12, 2009. Items that would be defined as Irregular Oversize Lettermail include media discs sent in standard CD, DVD or Blu-ray cases; hard cover books; or trading cards in protective plastic casings.

The proposal would split existing Oversize Lettermail into two categories. “Regular” Oversize Lettermail items would include items that are between 0.18 mm and 10 mm thick, regardless of flexibility; and items that are between 10 mm and 20 mm thick that meet the new flexibility requirement and do not have box-like edges. “Irregular” Oversize Lettermail items would include items that are between 10 mm and 20 mm thick that do not meet the new flexibility requirement and/or have box-like edges. All other existing specifications for oversize mail – including the maximum size and weight – will remain the same.

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Parcelnet takes over TNT courier service (UK)

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

Parcelnet is to deliver an extra 12.5m parcels a year after acquiring Dutch-owned TNT’s courier service. Last year Parcelnet took over Redcats UK, a key player in the UK home shopping sector and says the latest acquisition will help strengthen Parcelnet’s network and expand it’s client base.

Parcelnet was formed in 2000 following the merger of Speedlink & Direct Line and already handled over 90 million parcel deliveries and returns collections annually. It has 3 sortation hubs, 16 regional depots and 135 sub-depots.

There are thought to be around 5500 self employed couriers working under the Parcelnet umbrella and the company now employs over 1200 people across the country.

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Deutsche Bank and Lloyds TSB only remaining bidders for Deutsche Postbank

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

Deutsche Bank AG. and Lloyds TSB Group Plc. are the only remaining suitors interested in taking over Deutsche Postbank AG. as the German retail bank moves on to disclose selected data on its business to the potential buyers on Monday, a person familiar with the procedure said.

The source said that Postbank has adopted a relatively restrictive stance in supplying information in the so-called data room, a metaphoric term for divulging privileged information in an advanced stage of the selling process.

Deutsche Post World Net AG., which owns 50 percent plus one share in Postbank, last Wednesday said it has entered into a “more intensive phase” of negotiations over the future of its banking subsidiary.

A spokesman for the German postal-services giant said at the time that potential buyers would not be given a specific set of data and that “individual talks” would be held instead. Deutsche Post is 31 percent-controlled by the German government through its development bank KfW Bankengruppe.

German securities trading laws would require a buyer of Deutsche Post’s majority stake to also make a mandatory offer for the remaining Postbank shares in the free float.

Recent media reports said that companies interested in Postbank, Germany’s biggest retail lender, also include Banco Santander of Spain, BNP Paribas of France and Belgian lender Fortis.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Boersen-Zeitung last Wednesday cited financial sources as saying that Deutsche Post eliminated Commerzbank AG. and Allianz SE.’s Dresdner Bank unit from the list of potential buyers.

Shares in Postbank were last week buoyed by speculation among traders that Lloyds TSB could be willing to pay as much as 11 billion euros for Postbank.

The lender currently has a market value of about about 9.1 billion euros.

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