How FedEx ‘Weakness’ May Win EU Backing for $4.8 Billion TNT Bid - Bloomberg
European Union regulators said in 2013 that FedEx Corp. was too weak to compete against a merged United Parcel Service Inc. and TNT Express NV. This disadvantage may become an asset as FedEx seeks approval to buy TNT.
The European Commission blocked UPS’s bid to buy TNT two years ago after it identified several countries where the company would face a single rival, said David Anderson, a lawyer at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in Brussels. FedEx’s frailty in these markets was the “main stumbling block.”
“FedEx’s perceived weakness is now likely to be a strength in getting this new deal through,” Anderson said.
European Union regulators said in 2013 that FedEx Corp. was too weak to compete against a merged United Parcel Service Inc. and TNT Express NV. This disadvantage may become an asset as FedEx seeks approval to buy TNT.
The European Commission blocked UPS’s bid to buy TNT two years ago after it identified several countries where the company would face a single rival, said David Anderson, a lawyer at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in Brussels. FedEx’s frailty in these markets was the “main stumbling block.”
“FedEx’s perceived weakness is now likely to be a strength in getting this new deal through,” Anderson said.
