The two ‘activist shareholders’ pushing for changes at TNT Express reduced their holdings this weekin response to the sharp rise in TNT shares following news of the UPS offer.
North America-based funds Jana Partners and AIMco have reduced their holdings to below the 5per cent regulatory threshold, international news agencies reported.
Jana, one of the driving forces behind the split of TNT Express and PostNL last year, hit theheadlines in recent weeks with its move to nominate new supervisory board members at TNT, followingits criticism of the company’s poor financial performance and share price decline.
The TNT share price soared more than 60 per cent at the start of this week after the companyrejected UPS’ €4.9 billion offer. It closed today at €9.39, 48 per cent higher than the closingprice of €6.34 on Friday February 17, before the UPS offer was announced. TNT and UPS remain intalks following rejection of the €9 per share offer, and analysts believe that the American companywill have to make a higher offer for its Dutch rival.
However, TNT sources have indicated that the company does not expect FedEx to make a bid,according to a Reuters report. “The last discussion we had with them (FedEx) didn’t give us theimpression that they were ready to make a move,” a source said.
Meanwhile, Dutch postal operator PostNL, which holds a 29.9 per cent in TNT Express, willannounce its Q4 and 2001 financial results on Monday (February 27). Attention will be focused onany comments about how management sees the situation at the former sister company.
