Delivery giants United Parcel Service and TNT Express today offered fresh concessions to Brussels as they struggle to get their merger past European regulators.
UPS and TNT Express announced plans to sell assets and open up their air flight operations, but gave few other details, which left analysts unimpressed.
Shares in Holland’s TNT Express rose 1% to €7.65 but still languish 20% below the offer price of €9.50 from America’s UPS, the world’s biggest delivery firm.
André Mulder, analyst at brokerage Kepler Capital, told Reuters he doubted “whether that is sufficient to please the European Commission”. He added: “We remain negative on the chance of success.”
Brussels is worried UPS’s €5.2 billion (£4.2 billion) takeover of TNT Express would mean it is too dominant and would leave only two other big global players, Deutsche Post’s DHL and US-based FedEx.
Analysts have estimated that in the UK, TNT Express and UPS have a combined market share of about 35%, while in Germany and France their share is about 30% and in Holland it is below 30%.
UPS has reportedly talked to Royal Mail FedEx and France’s La Poste about the possibility of selling some assets.
