Bloomberg: United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is nearing an agreement to buy TNT Express NV, Europe's second- largest package-delivery company, after an initial 4.9 billion euro ($6.5 billion) offer was rejected, people familiar with the matter said. The sides are now close to a deal on the price, following UPS's bid of 9 euros a share last month, and on conditions that may lead to job cuts and require divestitures to win antitrust approval, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. An announcement may come as soon as next week, one of the people said. A TNT acquisition would put UPS almost on par with Deutsche Post AG's DHL in European express shipments, according to researcher Transport Intelligence. The combined company would have a 17.3 percent share in European express shipments, before any divestitures, compared with DHL's 17.6 percent, based on Transport Intelligence data. Read more!
