PostNL expands product portfolio with acquisition in the courier market
PostNL acquires courier company Valid Express
26 September 2012 at 08:30 CET - The Hague – PostNL has acquired the courier company Valid Express. This transaction broadens PostNL product range for customers who need reliable and same day delivery. The acquisition of Valid Express provides PostNL with a nationwide courier network with a social heart. Valid Express provides chronically ill and physically disabled people with a full and equal job, helping and keeping them out of the benefits environment.
Valid Express was founded in 1999 by Nicolette Mak. Her disabled brother was unable to find a job, which was the motive for setting up a courier company. Valid Express now employs sixty people, with branches in Amsterdam, The Hague/Rotterdam and Utrecht. The company has six hundred customers. It is the ambition of Valid Express to offer a job to people with a physical disability collectively with the business community. This view fits seamlessly into PostNL’s corporate responsible profile.
"We expect a lot of interest for this new service from our customers, because this way, retailers and webshops can differentiate themselves even more from their competitors. The fact is that we see the preferences of receiving customers becoming increasingly diverse. The customer wants increasingly more influence on where and when the parcel is delivered. With the acquisition of Valid Express we can deliver parcels even faster and give further meaning to our social ambition," says Gerrit Mastenbroek, CEO of PostNL Parcels.
The DOEN Foundation, former shareholder of Valid Express, is delighted with this acquisition. The foundation encourages people and companies who take the lead in the field of sustainable, social and cultural renewal.
Both parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction price.
About PostNL
PostNL processes 8.7 billion addressed postal items (including 106 million parcels) each year and delivers to addresses in the Benelux, Germany, the UK and Italy. PostNL’s main business is mail, parcels and e-commerce. The company also provides services in the area of data and document management, direct marketing and fulfilment. PostNL employs some 65,500 people. In 2011 the company generated a turnover of nearly 4.3 billion euros.