Royal Mail PLC (LON:RMG) has expanded its presence on the continent after its Spanish subsidiary acquired express parcel delivery firm, ASM Transporte Urgente.
General Logistics Systems (GLS) will pay a total consideration of around €71mln for ASM, providing GLS with “significantly enhanced size and scale”.
GLS operates mainly in the export market currently, although it hopes its new acquisition will strengthen its domestic offering as well.
“ASM is a great strategic fit for GLS,” said chief executive Rico Back.
“The combination of ASM and GLS Spain means customers can benefit from a high-quality, express parcels service within Spain and also in the growing cross-border market.”
ASM is Spain’s second biggest express parcels network, with 16 hubs and branches and more than 1,500 daily distribution routes.
It accounts for around 10% of Spain’s domestic parcels market, delivering 25mln parcels in 2015 alone, generating revenues of around €78 million.
Royal Mail expects the transaction to be profit accretive for GLS in 2018-19.
Shares in Royal Mail were up 18.7p, or 4%, to 527.7p.