UPS Ends Bid to Buy TNT Express
UPS Inc. has abandoned its $6.8 billion bid to buy European package carrier TNT Express NV after European regulators moved to block the deal, Bloomberg News reported Monday.
Antitrust officials told the companies last week that the latest remedies were insufficient, according to TNT, Bloomberg reported.
UPS will pay Netherlands-based TNT a 200 million euro ($267 million) termination fee, UPS said in an overnight statement.
The deal was first announced last March, and the companies pushed back the closure date several times last year due to antitrust and other pending reviews by European regulators.
UPS and TNT said in September they expected the deal would close in early 2013.
UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis said the company was “extremely disappointed with the EC’s position. We proposed significant and tangible remedies designed to address the EC’s concerns with the transaction. The combined company would have been transformative for the logistics industry, bringing meaningful benefits to consumers and customers around the world, while supporting growth in Europe in particular.”
UPS said it would make further announcements once the European Commission issues its formal decision, which is expected in the coming weeks.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
