Brussels, 22/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised the German group, Deutsche Post AG, to acquire sole control of the express delivery firm, DHL International, that it hitherto jointly held with Deutsche Lufthansa. Deutsche Post, held at 69% by the German State and 31% by private investors, is mainly active in postal services but also, via several subsidiaries, in the fields of national and international express delivery, parcel delivery by road, freight and logistics as well as financial services. The Commission noted that the activities of Deutsche Post in mail delivery were concentrated in Germany, a market where DHL is not present. As far as international express parcel and letter delivery is concerned, where both companies are present, Deutsche Post will face competition from UPS, Federal Express and TNT Post Group. Also, as Deutsche Post already jointly controlled DHL, the shift from joint to sole control is not likely to lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position, the Commission believes.