Bakker: Focused

Mumbai, Sept. 1: Dutch firm TNT, which entered the Indian express market in February, today acquired Speedage Express Cargo Services for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition will place TNT among the top three companies in India’s road express market. Speedage posted a turnover of over Rs 101 crore for the year ended March 31, 2006. The combined revenues of TNT in India after this acquisition will be close to 100 million euros, chief executive Peter Bakker said.

TNT recently sold off its logistics business for 1.48 billion euros. The company has acquired ARC India, which operates under the name — Speedage Express Cargo Services. The combination of Speedage’s strong domestic road network with TNT’s international and domestic networks is expected to form a powerful platform for expansion in the domestic express market.

“We are pleased to announce another step in the implementation of our focus on networks strategy today. TNT will gain a top-three position in the fast growing Indian domestic road express market with the acquisition of Speedage. We believe that the combination of Speedage road-based capabilities with TNT’s international express operations will form the first integrated and strongest network available in India. Moreover, it clearly complements our network strategy in Asia,” Bakker added.

Marie-Christine Lombard, group managing director of TNT’s express division, said the road-based express segment is projected to more than quadruple in the coming decade. Moreover, the sustainable economic growth in India, major government investments in infrastructure and an opportunity to leverage on Europe being the largest trade partner with India, should enable TNT to become the market leader in express in India by 2010.

Speedage’s customers include global players and large and medium sized companies. The acquisition will add 514 depots, 26 transit hubs, 730 vehicles and 1,195 employees to TNT’s existing resources, enabling the Dutch postal company to offer a comprehensive network covering all parts of India.

“Speedage is a result-oriented company that has established a substantial network in India. With a 60 per cent growth in its revenue over the past year, it is one of the fastest growing companies in the road express industry. This acquisition will allow TNT to extend the integrated air and road products spanning across ‘time critical’, ‘day definite’ and special services to a broad range of customers,” said Abhik Mitra, managing director of TNT-India.