Brussels, 20/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised Deutsche Post AG (DPAG), the German postal services monopoly, to take sole control of Securicor Omega Holdings Ltd (SOH), a company active in express and standard mail and package distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and also present in freight services, freight delivery and logistics. SOH was a sole subsidiary of Securicor until November 1998, when it became jointly controlled by Securicor and DPAG. Both partners then signed an agreement whereby Securicor sold its 50% share in the subsidiary to DPAG for 247 million EUR, and DPAG took sole control of the company. The Commission examined the operation, which was notified on 15 May, and discerned minor overlaps of activity in most postal services in the UL and Ireland. The cumulative market share will, however, remain below 10%. DPAG already holds a large share of the international express distribution market in the United Kingdom, but the increment brought about by SOH is less than 1%. Also, this operation will have little effect on competition, and there are plenty of major rivals to DPAG.