Deutsche Post Reportedly Close to Buying Airborne

Germany’s Deutsche Post World Net had no comment on reports that it is about to acquire package delivery provider Airborne Express, the Journal of Commerce reported on Monday.

Airborne Express is the third-largest domestic air transport firm in the United States behind United Parcel Service and FedEx. Deutsche Post is a global mail, express and logistics conglomerate.

According to JoC, Deutsche Post is trying to increase its presence in the United States. It first broke into the market in 1999 with the purchase of freight forwarder Air Express International.

However, one existing obstacle is a rule in the United States requiring that 51% of an airline’s equity and 75% of its voting stock to be U.S.-owned. It is not know how Deutsche Post might try to work around these requirements.

Last week, Reuters reported that Deutsche Post Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel downplayed the reports, calling them speculation that had been circulating for at least a year.

Earlier this month Airborne Inc. said it expected that its third-quarter loss would be about 10 cents per share, larger than it previously been predicted.

In June, Airborne Inc., the parent company of package shipper Airborne Express, said it was eliminating 640 workers because of a large drop in business.

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