December 6, 2005 10:45 AM, EST

TNT Plans to Sell Its Logistics Unit

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NT NV, Europe’s second-largest package-delivery company, plans to sell its logistics business and buy back about $1.2 billion of its shares to fend off any unsolicited offer for the company, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

he sale of the logistics unit, which had more than $4 billion in sales last year, will leave TNT with letter and express package-delivery operations, Bloomberg reported, citing the company.

TNT, which runs the Dutch postal service, also plans to expand its express mail service, Bloomberg said.

UPS Inc. was reportedly considering purchasing TNT, a German newspaper reported in September. (Click here for previous coverage.)

NT Logistics North America, which has contract carriage and warehousing operations, is ranked No. 30 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers and No. 7 on the TT Logistics 50 listing of North American logistics companies.