THE HAGUE, Netherlands – American package delivery service FedEx has agreed to take over Dutch rival TNT Express, one of Europe’s largest delivery companies, for 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion), the companies announced Tuesday, in a move FedEx said will strengthen its business around the world.
FedEx Corporation has reached a conditional agreement on an all-cash offer of eight euros ($8.75) for each TNT Express share, a premium of 33 per cent over the April 2 closing price, the companies said. They said the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016.
The planned takeover comes two years after United Parcel Service Inc. dropped a 5.2 billion-euro takeover bid for TNT Express, citing objections by European Union regulators.
TNT Express and FedEx said they are “confident that anti-trust concerns, if any, can be addressed adequately in a timely fashion.”
Dutch postal company PostNL, which owns a 14.7 per cent stake in TNT Express, said it supports the bid.
FedEx chairman and CEO Fred Smith said in a statement that the deal “allows us to quickly broaden our portfolio of international transportation solutions to take advantage of market trends – especially the continuing growth of global e-commerce – and positions FedEx for greater long-term profitable growth.”
TNT Express CEO Tex Gunning said that while his company did not solicit the takeover bid, “we truly believe that FedEx’s proposal, both from a financial and a nonfinancial view, is good news for all stakeholders.”
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