THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — FedEx has agreed to take over Dutch delivery company TNT Express for 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion), bolstering its global business with an acquisition that rival UPS had attempted — but failed — to complete two years ago.
FedEx said Tuesday it has reached a conditional agreement with TNT Express' management on an all-cash offer of eight euros ($8.75) per TNT share. That represents a premium of 33 percent 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 percent 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 nonfinancial view, is good news for all stakeholders."
FedEx is based in Memphis, Tennessee, while TNT Express is headquartered in Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands.
