News

UNI Post & Logistics Swedish affiliate, Seko, and Danish affiliate, 3F-DK, have advised that they are happy with the merger between Sweden's Posten AB and Denmark's Post Danmark. Below is the text of their messagse to UNI;



SEKO

Swedish Posten AB presented today a letter of intent regarding a merger between Posten AB ("Posten") and Post Danmark A/S ("Post Danmark"). The companies' rationale is to secure a good level of public service and to meet the markets increasing challenges. The merger will also secure the possibility to maintain a first class mail and parcel business in both countries.

SEKO - The Swedish Union of Service and Communication Employees- is positive to the merger.

I´m convinced that this will be good for our members. It also increases the possibilities for Posten to fulfil its public service responsibilities; says Affe Mellström, president of SEKO-Posten.

Posten AB has in past years turned a negative trend around and is currently an economically solid company. SEKO:s opinion is that the upcoming merger is another step in the right direction, and that this will strengthen Postens Abs position on the market. This will in turn mean increased security for our members.



We are aware of the fact that a merger could lead to rationalising, but so far the positive effects are much stronger than the negative ones, says Mellström. 




The employees of Posten AB will be offered the possibility to become shareholders, a possibility the Danish post employees already have.

For further information in Swedish, please visit: www.seko.se



3F

The Scandinavian Postal Unions have for many years had hope for a merger between the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finish Post Offices. Negotiations have taken place several times, but without success. Some years ago Pan Nordic Logistic (PNL) was created by the four, but before it was a reality, Finland left the Corporation; later Sweden did the same, leaving the Corporation with only to investors - the Norwegian and Danish post office. Today PNL is used as a platform to the Swedish parcel market.



The merger of Danish and Swedish post is from our point of view very positive, and will create a strong platform for the future liberalised postal market. The merger may have consequences for the future corporation within PNL - but we must wait and see. One could hope that at least Norway would join the new company, but it isn't very realistic under the political situation today.



The most important thing for us is to ensure the working conditions for our members, and it has been a part of the deal, that collective agreements and working conditions will continue. The company will still have two national bodies and respect the national collective labour court/collective agreements. We respect, that each of the post offices has their own strengths - but together they will create an even stronger company.



We will together with our Swedish Colleagues have 4 seats out of 12 in the board of the company. In total 40% of the company will be Danish owned (75% government owned, 20% CVC capitals, 3% for the employed and the last 2% for managers of the Company). It is the plan, that the Company will be introduced on the Swedish Stock exchange in 3-5 years, meaning further sale of shares.



The merger will probably also have consequences for the liberalisation of the Danish letter market. Negotiations of the conditions on which the universal obligation will be provided, is on going, and will probably lead to a complete liberalisation before 2011.



Finally, the merger will in the future have consequences for the number of employees. The strategy for the two companies has been different, and in Sweden the universal obligation has been limited under the managing director

Eric Olsson. Eric Olsson will continue as managing director in the new company and it's very possible, that he will continue the former Swedish strategy in the new company, which may have consequences for the Danish employed.

Chairman of the board in the new company will be Fritz Schur who has been chairman in the board of Post Denmark for some years.



Below is the Press release from the Swedish Posten company that gives more details on the merger.



Swedish Posten AB Press release April 01, 2008



Merger between Posten and Post Danmark



The Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy & Communications, The Danish Ministry of Transport and CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") have signed a letter of intent regarding a merger between Posten AB ("Posten") and Post Danmark A/S ("Post Danmark"). The companies' rationale is to meet the markets increasing challenges through an increased competitiveness of a merged company. This merger will also secure the possibility to maintain a first class mail and parcel business in both countries continuing to reach all enterprise customers and households.



The agreement entails a merger between both companies into a combined company which will be jointly owned by the Swedish state, the Danish state, CVC and the employees. The merged company will have annual revenue of approximately SEK 45 billion and include over 50,000 employees.



Fritz H. Schur., currently Chairman of Post Danmark, will be appointed Chairman. Erik Olsson, currently the CEO of Posten, will assume the position as CEO of the merged company. The parent company will be Swedish and the headquarters will be located in Stockholm. The Swedish state together with the employees of Posten will own 60 percent of the merged company and the Danish state together with the employees of Post Danmark and CVC will own 40 percent. As part of the agreement, Posten will distribute an extraordinary dividend of SEK 1,400 million to the Swedish state. In all other respects, the influence of the owners is balanced in such a way that the Swedish state will have equal voting rights as the Danish state and CVC together.



The merged company will be organised along specialised business divisions, in a similar way as Posten has been organised since January 1, 2007. The traditional postal business in each respective country will be operated as national entities adhering to national regulations and using the same brands as today ("Posten" and "Post Danmark"). The logistics businesses will be joined under one division and under an own brand. The information logistics and graphical business will be joined under the Strålfors brand in the merged company. Beyond the four main businesses, the company will comprise group functions and one unit for shared services. Post Danmark's 25% ownership in De Post - La Poste (Belgium) will also be part of the merged company.



Both Posten and Post Danmark are well managed businesses. By establishing a merged company that acts on several markets offering a more competitive portfolio of services, we create a Nordic player with the right prerequisites to fulfill each respective service obligation with the quality we all expect. The enterprise customers in both countries will have access to a business partner with a larger capacity to accommodate increased requirements on communication and logistic solutions within, and outside, the Nordic area, says Fritz H. Schur the new Chairman of the merged company.



The postal and logistics markets are changing rapidly all across the world. When national postal markets are deregulated competition increases within the most attractive segments and sub-markets. Small, national players struggle to reach the needed volumes to compete with global players, especially relating to the ability to carry the increased costs when developing needed IT solutions. The deregulation decision taken by the EU will lead to consolidation of both traditional postal as well as logistic businesses.



The increasing internationalisation entails an increased demand of cross-border distribution solutions. Simultaneously, technological development leads to an increase in electronic communication which in turn means a decrease in mail volumes, so called electronic substitution. For businesses operating in small national markets, with limited financial strength and "reach", the need to cooperate with international partners increases - primarily within logistics but also within traditional postal operations.



The merger between Posten and Post Danmark provides significant value creating synergies for the merged company and its owners. In addition to cost synergies within IT, sourcing and administration/shared services, estimated to SEK 1 billion annually at full run-rate, there are expectations of significant operating and financial synergies within the business.



We operate on a market exposed to rapid change. The competition from international players increases when postal markets are deregulated and electronic communication challenges traditional mail operations. The merger between Posten and Post Danmark constitutes a proactive step in the right direction in order to meet these challenges. A combined company with strongly rooted national operations, creates the foundation for increased competitive strength across all business divisions, says Erik Olsson the new CEO of the merged company



The completion of the signed letter of intent is subject to required approvals by the parliaments in Sweden and Denmark respectively, signing of definitive agreements and completion of a so called due diligence. The merger is also dependent on approval by relevant regulatory authorities. The ambition is to complete the merger by the end of 2008.



SEB Enskilda has acted as Posten's financial advisor, while Nordea Corporate Finance has acted as Post Danmark's financial advisor in the transaction. Goldman Sachs International has acted as financial advisor to the Swedish government.