The emblem of of United Parcel Service is seen at the cargo center at the Cologne/Bonn airport near Cologne
The emblem of of United Parcel Service (UPS) is seen at the cargo center at the Cologne/Bonn airport near Cologne November 1, 2010. REUTERS

United Parcel Service Inc has finalized the agreement to buy TNT Express NV for 5.16 billion euros ($6.8 billion), according to a report in Bloomberg.

Earlier, UPS had given an offer to pay 9 euros per share for TNT, which its board had considered and later rejected. The two companies had continued the talks even after this rejection. Subsequently, the bid has been increased by 50 cents per share in the present deal.

This is a major acquisition for UPS, considering that TNT is Europe's second-largest express delivery company.

In May 2011, TNT split from Dutch mail company PostNL. In February this year, a fourth quarter loss was reported by TNT. It reported a $225 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 against net income of $5.2 million a year ago. It made an operating profit of $465 million in Europe in 2011 but lost $468 million in the Americas and $99 million in the Asia/Pacific region.

European customers account for around two-thirds of TNT's revenue.

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