Poste Italiane has signed a preliminary agreement with Dutch company PostNL and German company Mutares Holding for the acquisition by Poste Italiane of Nexive for an agreed value of approximately €60m (US$71m).
Nexive is a postal operator in Italy with a 12% share in the mail market and 1% share in the parcel market. The operator handles approximately 350 million items annually and its 2019 pro-forma revenues were €200m (US$237m).
According to Poste Italiane, the acquisition would enable it to leverage potential scale economies, further improving service levels for customers of both companies.
In a statement released November 17, Poste Italiane said, “From a strategic point of view and in line with experiences of other European countries, the structural decline in mail volumes, further exacerbated by the impact and restrictions due to the health emergency, makes consolidation in mail and related logistics infrastructures a priority to ensure sustainability, employment level and accessibility to customers.
“The transaction would contribute to the sustainability of the postal sector to the benefit of shareholders, sector employees, citizens, corporations, the public administration and the country as a whole.”
The final terms and conditions of the agreement will be disclosed to the public as soon as they are defined. Subject to fulfillment of the relevant conditions, the closing date is expected by the end of January 2021.
