DealZone

Fresh from jolting stock markets with a rosy earnings forecast, FedEx, along with its transport nemesis UPS, are seen stalking Europe for a lucrative target to take on Deutsche Post’s DHL. Specifically, they are being talked about – again – as potential bidders for the express unit of Dutch mail and logistics company TNT.

TNT moved a step closer to being broken up as activist funds took a 5 percent stake. New York-based Jana Partners and Canadian asset manager Alberta Investment Management Corp (AimCo) jointly hold the stake. The duo’s move is seen adding to investor pressure to split TNT’s lucrative express division from its troubled mail unit.

“Many activist shareholders believe that value can be created by splitting up TNT into mail and express because a stand-alone
express business would make an acquisition of TNT much easier,” said ING analyst Axel Funhoff.

There has been speculation for years about either FedEx or UPS buying TNT, but much of the talk went away with the credit crunch. Is the return of deal talk around TNT another sign of recovery?