FedEx Corporation and TNT Express N.V. have reached conditional agreement on recommended all-cash public offer of €8.00 per ordinary TNT Express share. The transaction represents an implied equity value for TNT Express of €4.4 billion, or $4.8 billion U.S.
The strategic acquisition will add significant value for FedEx shareowners, team members and customers around the globe, said Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp., in a jointly-issued press release.
The European regional headquarters of the combined companies will be in Amsterdam/Hoofddorp. TNT Express hub in Liege will be maintained as a significant operation for the group going forward. TNT Express’ airline operations will be divested, in compliance with applicable airline ownership regulations.
“This transaction allows us to quickly broaden our portfolio of international transportation solutions to take advantage of market trends, especially the continuing growth of global ecommerce, and positions FedEx for greater long-term profitable growth,” Smith said.
The combined companies’ customers would enjoy access to a considerably enhanced, integrated global network, according to the press release. This network would benefit from the combined strength of TNT Express strong European road platform and Liege hub and FedEx’s strength in other regions globally, including North America and Asia.
TNT Express customers would also benefit from access to the FedEx portfolio of solutions, including global air express, freight forwarding, contract logistics and surface transportation capabilities.
“This offer comes at a time of important transformations within TNT Express and we were fully geared to executing our stand-alone strategy. But while we did not solicit an acquisition, we truly believe that FedEx’s proposal, both from a financial and a non-financial view, is good news for all stakeholders,” said Tex Gunning, CEO of TNT Express. “Our people and customers can profit from the true global reach and expanded propositions, while with this offer our shareholders can already reap benefits today that otherwise would only have been available in the longer run.”
FedEx and TNT Express anticipate that the offer will close in the first half of calendar year 2016.
The global shipping game heated up in November, when DHL rebranded DHL Global Mail as DHL eCommerce to focus on providing customers with new solutions as ecommerce markets rapidly develop and expand.
With this rebranding, DHL also enhanced its services across the entire logistics chain to meet the rising demand for automated ecommerce solutions in several industry sectors including fashion, consumer electronics, media products and consumer pharmaceutical products.