Making it quite clear that Koninklijke PTT Nederland NV is going to be quite different from any privatized state telecommunications company the world has seen so far, the company yesterday sprang a complete surprise by seeking to boost the snail mail side of its business with a whopping $1.6bn takeover bid. It’s target is the Sidney, Australia-based worldwide transport group TNT Pty Ltd, the company that contributed significantly to the cost-cutting revolution in the UK newspaper industry successfully pursued by Rupert Murdoch and his News International Plc. The Dutch government is the first so far to privatize posts and telecommunications as a single entity rather than splitting them first, and PTT Nederland is about the only privatized post office anywhere. Adding TNT would put it in the world’s top four time-sensitive freight and logistics groups with annual revenues of over $4.4bn. The enlarged PTT would offer services in 200 countries with its own operations in 47 countries and carry over 2 million items a week. TNT is recommending the bid, which is 50% above TNT’s previous close. It insists the move represents no de-emphasizing of telecommunications.
