EU: UPS sues EC over decision to block TNT acquisition

US delivery giant UPS has launched court action against the European Union’s antitrust regulator for blocking a merger with Dutch firm TNT and is seeking €1.742 billion,  US$2.14 billion in compensation, reported the New York Times.

The EU’s official journal noted Monday, February 26, that UPS also wants the regulator, the European Commission, to pay interest, court costs and compensation for taxes and for losses suffered over the January 2013 decision, according to a notice published on Monday, February 26.

The General Court of the European Union annulled the decision by European Commission regulators last year, in part because the commission had used different economic models at different times to evaluate the deal. The Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has appealed that ruling to Europe’s highest court.

“We feel strongly that the proposed acquisition would have constituted a good deal for logistics customers,” Gregg Svingen, a UPS spokesman, said on Monday.

UPS agreed to acquire TNT in a transaction valued at US$6.8 billion in March 2012, but European regulators said they would block the deal because they were worried that a merger would effectively leave the Continent’s shipping market with just two main players: UPS and DHL.

In hopes of allaying those concerns, UPS agreed to sell some business units and to grant rivals access to part of its airline network, but regulators were unmoved and UPS withdrew its offer in January 2013.

A shipping rival, FedEx Corporation, agreed to acquire TNT in a US$4.8 billion deal in 2015, completing the deal after receiving approval from European regulators the following year.

Full Content: The New York Times

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