DHL’s acquisition of Romanian parcel delivery company Cargus has been formally approved by thecountry’s competition authorities, paving the way for DHL to become the clear leader in the
fast-growing Romanian express parcels market.DHL Romania said in a statement that the Romanian Competition Council authorised the acquisitionof Cargus by Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) on September 4, 2008. The acquisition was originallyannounced in April, pending approval from competition authorities. The price was not disclosed butgiven as €50 million by Romanian newspapers.
Gian Sharp, Managing Director DHL International Romania, and Augustin Plesea, Cargus chairman,said: “We are delighted that the transaction was authorised and we are confident that the complexprocess which we started a few months ago will be completed successfully.”
Under the acquisition agreement, DHL Express and Cargus will remain separate companies and willmaintain their present brands and service offering. Integration will focus on operationalimprovements, exchange of best practices and cost optimisation. However, the companies will worktowards single interfaces towards customers. Gian Sharp will lead the overall management, whileAugustin Plesea will remain part of the Cargus management team.
The acquisition makes DHL/Cargus into the dominant player in Romania ahead of TNT Express,UPS/TCS, GeoPost/Pegasus and locally-owned Fan Courier and TCE, according to CEP-Researchinformation.
