DHL Romania has finalised the acquisition of Cargus, one of the main players in the Romaniancourier domestic market, after it had been initially announced in April and formally approved by
the country’s Competition Council in September.The Cargus acquisition is part of DHL International Romania’s strategy to remain the topplayer on the local market for express courier services. Negotiations between the two companiesstarted in 2006, when DHL approached Cargus for the first time, thus launching this long-termpartnership.
The acquisition process passed through several complex stages with Cargus being the object ofsome rigorous legal and fiscal procedures. On 3 December, all the parties involved including DHL,Cargus, the Competition Council, the law firm McGregor & Partners and the managementconsultancy firm Byron Associates confirmed that the transaction was successfully completed.
Cargus is the largest company on the courier market in Romania. It has more than 90 officesand dispatching centres, a fleet of more than 600 vehicles and more than 1,700 staff and partners.
Gian Sharp, Managing Director of DHL International Romania, commented: “This acquisitionrepresents the biggest transaction on the domestic market of courier services, which allows bothDHL and Cargus to gain market shares and to improve services through the largest courier networkdomestically and internationally.”
Under the acquisition agreement, DHL Express and Cargus will remain separate companies andwill maintain 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.
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.
