The Luxembourg-registered fund, according to a previous report to the Dutch stock exchange supervisor De Autoriteit Financiële Markten, held 20.12 percent of PostNL shares in early November. Investors must report whenever they exceed a certain proportion, namely 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75 and 95 percent.
PostNL is the dominant player in the Dutch market and has a strong position in other Benelux countries.
Vesa probably used the share of PostNL’s share price on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange to increase its share in recent weeks. While at the beginning of November it was around 3.80 euros per share, Thursday’s trading ended at 3.45 euros. Last May, the exchange rate even reached five euros.
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The value of the Vesa fund’s share currently amounts to 443 million euros, in terms of 10.75 billion crowns. The market value of PostNL, a multiple of the number of shares issued and their price, is 1.78 billion euros.
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Last week, the shares came under selling pressure after Bank of America lowered its target price from 4.90 to 3.10 euros. Analysts cited slower growth in the volume of parcels and higher personnel costs as reasons. In the previous two years, PostNL, like other logistics companies, has benefited from an increase in online shopping due to the pandemic. However, this effect disappears despite the omicron wave.
The fund usually does not comment on its intentions with PostNL. It is therefore not clear whether Křetínský and Tkáč intend to further increase their share, or even to take over PostNL, as the Dutch press sometimes speculates.
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Branislav Miškovič, Investment Director of Vesa Equity Investment, last commented on the investment last spring: “The investment in PostNL confirms Vesa’s strategic intention in the logistics sector.”
He emphasized that he considered “last mile” logistics to be a growing business, especially in the area of parcel delivery. The term last mile is used for the final leg of the journey to the customer.
In addition to PostNL, Vesa, which focuses on stock exchange investments, is also the largest shareholder in the British postal company Royal Mail, of which the GLS logistics division is an important part. Vesa also owns stakes in Sainsbury’s UK supermarkets, French television company TF1, the American footwear chain Foot Locker and the French retail group Casino Guichard.
Editor’s note: Daniel Křetínský and Patrik Tkáč are co-owners of the Czech News Center, which publishes the E15 daily.
