The Netherlands authorities have allowed the extension of United Parcel Service’s offer period for the proposed acquisition of TNT Express, a joint statement by UPS and TNT Express said.
The Dutch government is permitting Atlanta-based UPS to further extend its offer period for the takeover of Dutch package delivery company TNT Express until one week after clearances from the European Commission (EC) and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) have been obtained, but not later than February 28, 2013.
Both companies said they expect the competition clearances from the EC and MOFCOM to be the last material ones received.
The required competition clearances will not be obtained by the expiry of the current offer period, which ends on November 9, 2012. As previously announced, UPS and TNT Express expect the proposed acquisition to close in early 2013.
Last month, the two logistics firms received a statement of objections from the EC questioning the impact of their intended merger on the competition in the international express small package market in Europe.
In March this year, UPS agreed to purchase TNT Express for EUR5.16 billion ($6.77 billion). The buy-out of Europe’s second largest package delivery service by the world’s biggest would pave the way for greater access by UPS in the European market.
But approval by the EC of the proposed merger has dragged, as the commission continues its thorough review of the plan amid worries of antitrust violations. The acquisition will reduce to three the top four players in the European express delivery sector. The two others are DHL Express and FedEx Express.
Photo: Peter Black2007
