Post Sells Property
November 6, 2007
Business daily Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) reported Tuesday, Nov. 6, that Deutsche Post said it had hired US bank Morgan Stanley to organize the sale of real estate it no longer needed.
The FTD, citing industry sources, said Deutsche Post planned to sell buildings that are already empty or would soon be. They include offices, packaging warehouses and distribution centers. Up to 1,000 sites are to be sold, including 50 outside of Germany.
Deutsche Post, which owns the logistics company DHL, aims to boost its profitability. Many investors, particulary in Anglo-Saxon countries, are unhappy with the fall of their Post shares below the level they were listed at in November 2000.
New market strategy on the way
The FTD reported that the real estate for sale could potentially generate an annual rental income of around 90 million euros.
Deutsche Post itself declined to comment.
The company is set to present its third-quarter earnings on Thursday with Deutsche Post's chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel and chief financial officer John Allan to also offer up a new capital market strategy.
Last year's annual report said Deutsche Post owned real estate worth 5.22 billion euros.