Post plans joint venture with French

Swiss Post has announced plans to merge its cross-border mail activities with La Poste of France.

The new joint venture, which has been approved by both boards of directors, should begin operations in 2012.

The new company will be owned equally by Swiss Post and La Poste. It will be headquartered in Paris and Bern.

In a statement on Thursday, Swiss Post said the merger would allow both companies “to further enhance and develop their international mail business”.

“By combining their expertise and networks in cross-border mail, La Poste and Swiss Post will increase their capacity to serve their international customers, thereby strengthening their business dynamics and the value of their international investments,” the statement said.

 “Both partners are complementary from both a geographic and a market-offering point of view.  The new company will thus provide the best available value-added mailing solutions for their international clients,” said Jürg Bucher, CEO of Swiss Post.

Swiss Post is a publicly owned company. The Swiss Post Group has 61,500 employees, with 7,700 staff members based outside Switzerland. In 2010, the group’s operating income totalled SFr 8.7 billion ($9.31 billion) and the operating result was SFr930 million.