FedEx agrees to take over Dutch rival TNT Express

FedEx has agreed to take over Dutch delivery company TNT Express for 4.4 billion euros (USD 4.8 billion), bolstering its global business with an acquisition that rival UPS had attempted -- but failed -- to complete two years ago.
FedEx said today it has reached a conditional agreement with TNT Express' management on an all-cash offer of eight euros (USD 8.75) per TNT share.
That represents a premium of 33 per cent over the share's April 2 closing price, the companies said.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016, pending shareholder approval. Dutch postal company PostNL, which owns a 14.7 per cent stake in TNT Express, said it supports the bid.

The deal comes two years after United Parcel Service Inc dropped its own 5.2 billion-euro takeover bid for the Dutch company, citing objections by European Union regulators worried about the company becoming too dominant.
TNT Express and FedEx said they are "confident that anti-trust concerns, if any, can be addressed adequately in a timely fashion."

FedEx Corp chairman and CEO Fred Smith said in a statement that the deal "allows us to quickly broaden our portfolio of international transportation solutions to take advantage of market trends -- especially the continuing growth of global e-commerce -- and positions FedEx for greater long-term profitable growth."

TNT Express CEO Tex Gunning said that while his company did not solicit the takeover bid, "we truly believe that FedEx's proposal, both from a financial and a non-financial view, is good news for all stakeholders."
FedEx is based in Memphis, Tennessee, while TNT Express is headquartered in Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands.