Deutsche Post May Sell DHL to FedEx, Report Says

Deutsche Post AG may sell its DHL Americas unit to FedEx Corp., according to a German newspaper, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The Financial Times Deutschland said Deutsche Post may sell the U.S. operation to FedEx and seek a merger partner for its Deutsche Postbank unit later this year, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified company officials, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg quoted an analyst with UBS Securities who said the move “conceptually makes sense” for FedEx.

FedEx has 29% of the U.S. package-shipping market, trailing UPS Inc. 52%, and would add about 6.6% by buying DHL, according to 2006 figures from SJ Consulting Group, Bloomberg said.

DHL Americas is ranked No. 3 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. FedEx is ranked No. 2 and UPS is No. 1.