Private Dutch mail operator Sandd has gained the green light to buy smaller rival Selektmail fromDeutsche Post to strengthen its business in competition with TNT Post.
The Dutch competition authority has approved the planned acquisition and the transaction willnow go ahead, the company announced. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Sandd, which was set up in 2001, said the deal will enable it to achieve its growth ambitionsby expanding to a volume of some 700 million pieces per year. It will start to integrate theSelektmail network into its own network.
The company, with 14,000 part-time workers, currently handles some 450 million items a yearthrough its 70 offices. It has about 10 per cent of the Dutch addressed letters market whileSelektmail has about 5 per cent. The enlarged company aims to grow to a market share of 20-25 percent in future. In 2008, it had revenues of €80 million.
Selektmail, which operates under the DHL Global Mail brand, is somewhat smaller than Sanddand has about 12,000 delivery staff. It offers a 48-hour delivery service with deliveries twice aweek, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“This is a good day for Sandd, and a good day for the Dutch postal market. I am very contentwith the agreement of the competition authority,” said Gert-Jan Morsink, CEO of Sandd. The approvalfollowed “seamlessly” from the recent collective agreement for delivery workers, he pointed out.Under this agreement, Sandd will transfer 80 per cent of its part-time delivery workers topermanent contracts by the end of 2013. Staff will be covered by collective conditions on wages,holidays, insurance and other topics.
The company has long faced criticism from labour unions over its employment policies. Itmostly uses part-time staff who are paid on the basis of the volumes they deliver rather than afixed salary.
For Deutsche Post, the disposal of its Dutch mail subsidiary marks the end of its efforts tocompete with TNT Post in its home market. In Germany, TNT Post has linked up with publishing groupsto form a rival nationwide delivery network.
