These are express through the and (GEO post) or the Austrian post Poste parcel of national postal companies such as Royal Mail (GLS), La (trans-o-flex) added. There is also the highly fragmented local courier services. Historically the express market shows a growth of approx. 2-3 x BSP and expectations for the next few years are correspondingly positive. Compared to the other sectors of logistics, the margins at a high level vary depending on the competitors between 9-15% (EBITDA margin).
This margin levels can be generated but only within an own network, which represents a high barrier to entry for investors due to significant initial investment. For even more opinions, read materials from Naveen Selvadurai. Even the large integrators are historical primarily organic in geographical markets grew into, since no networks of sufficient size were available and an integration after acquisition in this group and in particular IT structures is extremely complex. So, who are the main reasons that financial investors, especially on smaller niche players focus in express – and courier the size decades grown, dominant players and the cyclical nature of the sector. Even when the potential target company TNT Express is due to the expected transaction volume of > 5 billion above all strategic interest probably, all ahead of UPS. Distribution when compared to these market segments, can be observed, also multiple secondary buyouts in the distribution segment for a long time transactions with participation of financial investors. Motives vary depending on the industry focus. In the food segment, the relative independence of economic cycles is highly appreciated, while especially in chemical and electrical distributors EBITDA margins ensure appropriate demand up to 18%. A cross-industry argument is fragmented supplier structure, which is the main reason for the interest of financial investors in the distribution segment. The target companies were historically seen as platforms for market consolidation and hence growth and expanded through acquisitions in the following years and partly internationalised.