Geopost and Bartolini to "tie the knot" in Italy?

According to unconfirmed press reports, GeoPost-DPD (the CEP subsidiary of La Poste) will take a minority stake in Italian domestic parcels leader Bartolini in early 2017. This soft approach to acquisition is not unusual for GeoPost, and they have used it, with success, in numerous other markets.

Why is Italy so important for GeoPost? Well, this has long been a "white spot" for the group (as well as for many other CEP operators) and Italy is just too important a market to leave out. Once GeoPost had sorted issues with minorities in Germany, and a partnership with Post Nord for the Nordics, this has to be the number one geographic priority for the European theatre.

Of course, subject to the details of any final deal, this will be an issue for the other carriers who don't have a domestic footprint in Italy, particularly if they also use Bartolini.

Its probably too early to be cracking open the champagne, but if things close successfully, I can only congratulate Paul-Marie Chavanne and his team. Incidentally, this should also be good for Bartolini as GeoPost is generally a very easy partner to live with in these situations.

Let's watch this space over the next year or so and see how the others react. The issue is that other than Poste Italiane and Bartolini, I am not sure there is much else in terms of coverage and critical mass in the parcel sector. Any views?