Brazil's economic regulatory authority (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica - CADE) has quashed an appeal by US logistics firm UPS to block the imminent merger of rivals FedEx and TNT Express.
In its February application, UPS had argued there were antitrust concerns that had not been considered in the CADE's original unconditional approval. As such, it requested the CADE to reconsider its findings.
With this ruling, FedEx and TNT Express have obtained unconditional competition approval in the European Union, Brazil and the United States and are now pursuing approval in the remaining relevant jurisdictions, including China.
As a consequence of the merger, the new FedEx will exit the Iranian market where TNT Express currently maintains a presence. The move is due to existing US economic sanctions in force against that country.
The two firms hope to complete the transaction during the current half of the year.
