The investment company Vesa Equity owned by billionaires Daniel Křetínský and Patrik Tkáč, bought over sixteen million shares of the Dutch post office PostNL. The Dutch websites Quote and DeAandeelhouder first reported the news over the weekend.
Vesa paid about 56 million euros for the shares based on stock exchange prices, which represents almost 1.5 billion crowns. For this investment, it received a stake of 3.24 percent in the post office.
Today, PostNL shares are rising sharply by about 4.5 percent. During the trading, one share reached 3.8 euros, when around noon it cost 3.68 euros.
In the case of Křetínský, this is not the first investment in a postal company. Already last year, it acquired a significant stake in the British Royal Mail, where Vesa is even the largest shareholder with 13.1 percent of shares. “The investment in PostNL confirms Vesa’s strategic intention in the logistics sector,” commented Branislav Miškovič, investment director of Vesa Equity Investment, saying that they consider last-mile logistics, especially in the area of parcel delivery, to be a growing business. The last mile is the term used in logistics for the final section of the customer journey, which is the most expensive in terms of cost.
According to Miškovič, the Dutch company has the prerequisites to continue to be successful. It has a good infrastructure, a significant market share, and is a reliable partner in delivery for its clients. “It can be considered a case of the successful transformation of a traditional postal company into a modern and efficient provider of delivery and logistics services,” added Miškovič.
Both billionaires began buying Royal Mail shares in April last year when the stakes were around £ 1.5. Subsequently, they bought more shares. “In the case of Royal Mail, we especially appreciate the company’s tradition and the importance of the service it provides to the public,” Daniel Častvaj, a spokesman for Křetínsky, commented earlier.