Dutch post rejects final bid from Bpost

A third – and reputedly final – offer by Belgium’s national postal service, Bpost, to take over Dutch postal service PostNL has been rejected. Other offers were made and rejected last month.

According to Bpost CEO Koen Van Gerven (pictured), it was Dutch political influence that sank the deal. “On the Belgian side, the government behaved rationally, like any other shareholder, and stayed out of the debate,” he said in an interview with Trends magazine. “The Dutch have nothing to teach us there. During this period I have felt more interference from Dutch politicians than during my whole career in Belgium.”

The problems started, he said, with the leak of a confidential working document to the Dutch Financieele Dagblad ahead of the original bid. That undermined any attempt to keep the talks private. “The public square is no place to discuss a transaction like that.”

The improved third bid for PostNL, which Bpost said would be their last, offered €5.75 a share. It was rejected unanimously by the board and the governing council, with the statement that they were “not convinced that a combination of Bpost and PostNL would be successful”.

PostNL fears that a Belgian takeover would lead the Dutch government to turn over the contract for mail delivery to someone else. They also fear that employment in the Netherlands might be affected.

The postal carrier also expressed misgivings over the complex management structure of Bpost and the possible influence of the majority shareholder, the Belgian government.

Photo courtesy Made in Mechelen