€300 Million Strategic Investment in Belgium's Postal Operator

Cleary Gottlieb represented the Belgian State and Belgium’s postal operator De Post NV/La Poste SA (The Post) in the acquisition of a strategic equity interest in The Post for €300 million by a consortium of investors. The deal is expected to close in early 2006 subject to European Commission merger clearance.

The consortium included Post Danmark A/S, the Danish postal services provider, and CVC Capital Partners, the UK-based private equity firm. The acquisition follows a process that began in December 2004.

The Post is a public-sector company with approximately 40,000 employees. The strategic partnership is aimed at leapfrogging The Post’s transformation process in preparation for the full liberalization of European postal services in 2009.

This transaction represents the culmination of a long-term project with the Belgian State and The Post in which Cleary was instrumental in conceptualizing the transaction structure, drafting the transaction documents and providing advice, amongst others, on sector-specific regulatory and tax issues.