Deutsche Post has taken a majority position of the Dutch mail company MailMerge. When combined with other postal operations in The Netherlands, including DHL Global Mail, Deutsche Post is now the largest private mail service provider in The Netherlands.
While expansion and integration of operations in The Netherlands is going well, reports Transport Intelligence, Deutsche Post’s DHL is not seeing the same sort of smooth transition and growth in some other European markets – especially in the U.K. and France. Meanwhile, DHL is reporting substantial growth in China, where DHL Express has invested $273 million in recent years. Another strong growth market for the group is in India where DHL recently established a joint venture DHL Danzas Lemuir. The company has invested $250 million in India in the last three years.
Exel, which will be acquired by Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), has not slowed expansion. It recently announced a partnership with Macquarie Goodman Group, an Australian funds company, to develop and manage properties jointly in Asia and Australia. Facilities include a 600,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center in Shanghai and a 310,000 square foot warehouse to be developed on 623,000 square feet of land Macquarie Goodman acquired in Adelaide, Australia.
The Shanghai joint venture will cost a total of $31.8 million and will be built in two stages. The first phase will be completed by November 2006 and the second by July 2007. The Australian development will cost $18.3 million.
Competing to become the top contract logistics company, Kuehne + Nagel International AG will acquire the entire share capital of ACR Logistics for $529 million and assume $60 million of ACR’s debt.
ACR, formerly Hays Logistics, was acquired by U.S.-based Platinum Equity in 2004 and was not expected to be a takeover target so soon. In the 11 months to December 31, 2004, the company reported revenues of $1.4 billion and operating profits of $72 million. The company has nearly 15,000 employees at 140 locations in 11 countries.