UPS appeals EU rejection of $ 6.7 b TNT Express bid

Tuesday, 9 April 2013 01:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: United Parcel Services has appealed the European Union regulator’s decision to block its 5.16 billion Euro (US$ 6.7 billion) bid for Dutch competitor TNT Express NV, a UPS spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday.

US-based UPS, the world’s No. 1 package delivery company, dropped its bid to buy the Dutch firm on 14 January, on the expectation of an EU veto of the merger. At that time, UPS and TNT Express said the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, had told the two firms it was working on a decision to prohibit the proposed acquisition, leaving them no choice but to abandon it. UPS has decided to challenge the EU’s decision because it believes it was “Factually and legally erroneous,” a UPS spokeswoman Peggy Gardner, wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.

“We are challenging the decision in order to ensure a more accurate assessment of the EU competitive landscape and that no precedent is established by the EC that would limit international growth opportunities,” Gardner wrote. “UPS submitted its appeal to the European Commission last week,” Gardner said. News of UPS’ appeal was first reported by Bloomberg.