Deutsche Post agrees to buy UK Mail

[SpacePhoenix]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37493425" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

German postal firm Deutsche Post has agreed a deal to buy UK Mail for £242.7m, which will see it compete with Royal Mail for parcel deliveries.

The purchase is part of a European expansion drive by Deutsche Post.

"UK Mail is well-run and an established provider of quality delivery services in the UK. It offers a complementary fit with our integrated offering," said Deutsche board member Jurgen Gerdes.

UK Mail directors said it believed the deal was "fair and reasonable".

Under the terms of the deal, UK Mail shareholders will receive 440p a share.

Peter Kane, chairman of UK Mail, said: "The board believes that UK Mail will benefit significantly from becoming part of Deutsche Post DHL and will be better positioned to continue to develop our parcels and mail businesses.

"Our customers will have direct access to Deutsche Post DHL's integrated global parcel network and comprehensive logistics capabilities. We will have opportunities to win additional business from Deutsche Post DHL's existing customer base."

Following news of the deal, shares in UK Mail jumped by more than 40%.

UK Mail suffered technical problems last year at a new sorting centre which left it having to handle bulky parcels manually.

This led to higher costs which reduced its profits.

The parcel delivery company has a network of more than 50 sites across the UK and more than 25,000 customers.

It competes in a crowded marketplace which, despite the rise in online shopping, has had its problems.

Delivery firm City Link called in administrators on Christmas Eve 2014, with some of its work being picked up subsequently by UK Mail.

[BeamishStout]

OK here is the thing. Deutsche Post = DHL in the UK. I see a few DHL vans going around as I did with UK Mail. UK Mail has now been absorbed into Deusche Post i.e. DHL in the UK. So before we had this merger we had DHL + UK Mail (2 companies). After this takeover we have only DHL (1 company). So as of the takeover DHL will, in the immediate future, have all the business of the 2 different companies. The assumption is that, because of DHL's better logistics, they will poach more business from other couriers and, more importantly, RM. This may happen but equally it may not . Don't know why the markets have decided this move by DP is necessarily bad for RM as DHL already exist as a courier option

[viking1488]

im not sure why people are not taking about issues like this, to me this is another nail in the rm coffin the share price is coming down since Deutsche Post bought out uk mail to me this is just the start they dont spend 300 million for nothing they will be coming for rm business sooner or later and more than likely cost jobs in the future

[viking1488]

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/com ... 66615.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kevin.r.smith]

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/com ... 66615.html

Well TNT try to take on Royalmail by having their own postmen and lost money