bpost SA/NV (ENXTBR:BPOST) made an offer to acquire PostNL N.V. (ENXTAM:PNL) from a group of shareholders in a merger of equals transaction for €2.4 billion on November 6, 2016. bpost will make a public offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of PostNL at a price of €2.825 in cash per share plus 0.1202 bpost shares per PostNL share. Bpost also proposes to offer PostNL's shareholders a mix and match facility that would allow them to elect to vary the proportions in which they would receive cash and bpost shares for the PostNL shares tendered. Post-completion, PostNL shareholders would own around 21% of the combined company if the transaction took place. Bpost intends to finance the cash component of the offer using cash resources and external debt. The Board of Directors of the combination would consist of ten members, comprising 3 non executive Directors to be nominated by PostNL, one of whom would be designated as chairman of Bod, three non-executive directors to be nominated by Belgian State, three independent non-executive directors to be nominated by bpost's Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Chief Executive Officer of the combination, being the current Chief Executive Officer of bpost. PostNL and bpost would be equally represented in the Executive Committee. The PostNL Supervisory Board would consist of five members. The PostNL Board of Management would consist of two PostNL representatives. As of November 30, 2016, the deal is Bpost upgraded the offer for €5.75 per share in cash and stock from €5.65 per share.

PostNL's Dutch headquarters would remain at its current location in The Hague. The headquarters of the combination would be located in Brussels. The offer is subject to recommendation by PostNl Boards, minimum acceptance level, anti trust approval and regulatory approvals. The Board of bpost unanimously approved the deal on November 6, 2016. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of PostNL are reviewing and considering bpost's unsolicited proposal with the support of financial and legal advisors, acting in accordance with their fiduciary duties. As on November 7, 2016, PostNL rejected the takeover offer as it wished to remain an independent group. The combination would result in a major acceleration of PostNL's and bposts's growth strategy which would drive significant expected EPS and DPS accretion. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acted as financial advisor to PostNL N.V. Allen & Overy LLP and Stibbe N.V. acted as legal advisors to PostNL. BofAML acted as financial advisor for PostNL N.V.

Bpost SA/NV (ENXTBR:BPOST) cancelled the acquisition of PostNL N.V. (ENXTAM:PNL) from a group of shareholders in a merger of equals transaction on January 7, 2017.