Bpost slides after it agrees to buy logistics firm Staci

Bpost SA

08/04/2024 10:52

** Shares in Bpost  BPOST.BR  fall 4.3% after the Belgian
postal services provider late on Friday said it had agreed to
buy logistics firm Staci
    ** "In our view timing-wise this significant deal is not
ideal," says brokerage Degroof Petercam, noting there is
currently a lot of uncertainty surrounding Bpost
    ** Under the deal, Bpost will buy Staci for an enterprise
value of EUR 1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) 
    ** Degroof Petercam says this will stretch Bpost's leverage
(net debt to EBITDA) from 0.7x to an estimated 2.6-3.0x, with
net debt possibly surpassing 2x current market cap
    ** "Strategic fit may be there, but financially it looks
stretched," the broker says
    ** Bpost is on track for worst day in a month if losses hold
    ** Including Monday's fall, it has dropped around 28% YTD​

($1 = 0.9238 euros)

 (Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes)
 ((Dimitri.Rhodes@thomsonreuters.com))