FedEx to buy TNT to expand Europe deliveries

FEDEX (FDX.NY)aid it will pay 8 euros in cash per ordinary TNT Express share, a premium of 33 percent over TNT's closing price of 6 euros on the Amsterdam exchange on April 2.

The deal, which has been unanimously recommended and supported by TNT Express' board, represents an implied equity value for TNT Express of 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion), the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Following a failed acquisition by United Parcel Service Inc in 2013, TNT has embarked on a restructuring programme, cutting costs, selling operations and investing heavily in its road network to hold on to customers in a weak European market for business package deliveries.

TNT warned in February that it expected adverse trading conditions to continue in its main western European markets this year.

($1 = 0.9156 euros)

(Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)