UPS will have a majority stake in a new joint venture that will acquire the small package operations of Unsped Paket Servisi San ve Ticaret A.S., its existing service agent in Turkey. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. Leadership of the new venture will come from Unsped CEO Haluk Undeger, who has grown the operation in Turkey to be UPS’s largest service contractor. Undeger will also own a minority share in the new joint venture. Closing is expected to occur by the end of July, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.
“This emerging area covers trade to and from 21 countries where UPS is experiencing increased demand,” said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International. “We’re tapping the business acumen Haluk Undeger has shown over the past 20 years in his relationship with UPS. This joint venture will spearhead growth among our other service agents and operations in these countries. This part of the world has become a transportation bridge and ideal near-sourcing location for Europe, Russia and Asia.”
The joint venture follows the announcement earlier in 2009 of expanded UPS domestic express small package pickup and delivery services offered in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Revenues for Unsped have increased over 18% on a compounded annual growth rate for the past three years. The nearly 2,500 employees of Unsped will continue to be managed by the Turkish leadership team and become part of the joint venture. Unsped systems in Turkey already link with UPS back-end processing to provide global visibility for customers.
