EU Approves FedEx Acquisition of TNT Express
January 08 2016 - 6:12AM
Dow Jones News
By Tom Fairless
BRUSSELS--European Union regulators said Friday they have
unconditionally approved FedEx Corp.'s acquisition of Dutch parcel
firm TNT Express NV, formally closing a six-month antitrust probe
that had been one of the biggest hurdles toward the near-$5 billion
deal.
The approval had been expected since FedEx announced in October
that European regulators wouldn't challenge the transaction. That
was seen as an unexpectedly easy pass from Europe's antitrust cops,
who had blocked a similar deal between rival United Parcel Services
Inc. and TNT in 2013.
The European Commission, the bloc's top antitrust authority,
opened a full investigation into the deal in July, warning that the
merged company might face insufficient competition on certain
parcel delivery routes, which could lead to higher prices for
businesses and consumers.
But on Friday, the regulator said it had concluded that the
delivery companies weren't particularly close competitors in
Europe, and that the merged entity would "continue to face
sufficient competition from its rivals."
"The conclusion is that European consumers will not be adversely
affected by the transaction," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager
said.
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2016 05:57 ET (10:57 GMT)
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