Brussels, 14/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - American courier company United Parcel Service (UPS) announced on 14 January that it has dropped its takeover bid for its Dutch rival TNT Express, because the European Commission told both companies that it would oppose the deal in its current format (a Commission spokesperson said the official decision would be taken on 5 February).
On 19 March 2012, UPS announced a €5.16 billion takeover bid for its rival and, on 20 July, the Commission launched a detailed investigation into the plans (see EUROPE 10661), taking the view that the merger could reduce competition for courier services. By buying up TNT, UPS would become the biggest logistical and parcels delivery company in Europe, reducing the number of companies combining air and land parcel delivery and a wide range of connected services from four to three (the other two being DHL and Federal Express). UPS offered a number of remedies, including the sale of assets, to win the Commission's approval, but the Commission says that gaps in the Fedex distribution network would have made UPS-TNT and DHL the only companies operating on different markets. (FG/transl.fl)