Correios de Portugal (CTT), the state postal operator, has expanded into the Spanish expressmarket with the acquisition of Tourline Express for 28.5 million euros. The Barcelona-based company
had turnover of 81 million euros in 2004 and handled five million express items. Founded in 1998,Tourline Express operates a network with 270 agencies across Spain and has ten distributioncenters, including a hub in Madrid. It has 1,700 staff and a fleet of 1,500 vehicles.CTT said the acquisition was part of its internationalization strategy, in which Spain, as theneighboring country, represented the natural market for expansion. CTT chief executive Luís Nazarésaid: “With the acquisition of this medium-sized Spanish company which is perfectly adjusted to oursize, we are making a clear move into the Iberian market for express mail and goods. With thisexpansion of our logistics and distribution capacity, we will make a decisive contribution to thedynamic development of our customers’ business in their two-way transactions between Portugal andSpain.”
