Deutsche Post have announced a deal to buy UK Mail, one of the UK’s largest logistics firms, for £242.7 million.
The German company have been looking to expand into Europe, with the new deal allowing it to compete with Royal Mail in the British delivery market. Deutsche Post DHL is one of the world’s leading mail groups, but the acquisition of UK Mail will give them access to their national network of over 50 sites and 2,400 vehicles.
Peter Kane, UK Mail’s chairman, said in a statement today that the company “will benefit significantly from becoming part of Deutsche Post DHL”. The use of DHL’s greater financial and operational resources will ensure they are “better positioned to continue to develop our parcels and mail businesses”, adding that they “will have opportunities to win additional business from Deutsche Post DHL’s existing customer base, and there will be significant synergies including additional volumes flowing through our network from Deutsche Post DHL’s global operations.”
UK Mail shareholders will be entitled to receive 440 pence in cash for each UK Mail Share held. Commenting on the offer, Jürgen Gerdes, board member of Deutsche Post DHL, said:
“The on-going expansion of our parcel network in Europe is driven by increasing demand within our e-commerce customer base for cross-border deliveries. Deutsche Post DHL, as the leader in the German parcel market, has already established a strong position in a number of European countries. UK Mail is a well-run business and an established provider of quality delivery services in the UK and offers a complementary fit with our integrated offering. With this acquisition, we will further extend our network and have a strong foothold in Europe’s three largest e-commerce markets, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, which account for over 60 per cent. of online retail in the continent.”
Deutsche Post (ETR:DPW) shares spiked just after market open, up 1.18 percent to 27.92 (0934GMT).