The courier services market has seen several acquisitions since the beginning of the year that have introduced major players such as UPS and the French Post Office on the domestic market, while the German Post Office has strengthened its position, and the Austrians remain interested in the market. So what is in store for the courier services industry?
Domestic couriers had announced as early as two years ago that they planned to attract strategic investors or investment funds to further develop some businesses on one of the most dynamic markets in Romania.
Still, the first deals were only clinched as late as at the beginning of the year. The spree of acquisitions started with the direct entrance of UPS in Romania, through the acquisition of Trans Courier Service, and continued with the biggest deal sealed so far on this market, the sale of Cargus to DHL.
In January, US giant UPS announced the acquisition of domestic firm Trans Courier Service. As a result, while last year DHL and TNT controlled 80% of the international delivery services segment, market shares could change with the direct entrance of UPS.
At the same time, a large part of players on the segment of internal delivery services, which is dominated by Cargus, Fan Courier, Curiero, TCE Logistica and Pegasus Courier, also attracted investors.
The biggest deal on the market was the sale of Cargus to DHL, put at 50m euros. DHL is 100% owned by Deutsche Post World Net world giant, which, as a result, strengthened its presence domestically. Practically, through this acquisition, DHL becomes the leader of the Romanian market.
While Cargus has already been sold, its main rival on the segment of internal delivery services, Fan Courier, still counts on its own development.
While the German Post Office provider acquired Cargus to strengthen its presence on the market, the French Post Office in turn took over a company to enter the Romanian market. Thus, the courier service unit GeoPost and Turkey's Yurtici Kargo took over 80% in Pegasus, in a deal ZF estimates at 6-9m euros.
Domestically, sale announcements also came from TCE Logistica and Curiero. While TCE representatives are preparing to start talks, Curiero has already reached an agreement with Asesoft for a 25% stake.
Smaller companies on the market, such as Sprint Courier, Concorde Courier, Alo Courier, Nemo Expres and Roexpres, are also likely to be the target of some acquisitions in the following period considering the large investments required to support growth and remain competitive.
In addition, a rising number of foreign shipping, courier and logistics companies are interested in the domestic market, which includes the Austrian Post Office.
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