FEDEX TO BUY TOWER GROUP

FEDEX TO BUY TOWER GROUP    FedEx Corp., the parent company of Federal Express and RPS, is expected to announce Thursday the acquisition of Tower Group International, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based customs broker.
   Sources familiar with the deal said the two companies were planning to sign an agreement Wednesday afternoon. A spokesman for FedEx said the express carrier had scheduled a press announcement for Thursday morning.
   Tower, a McGraw-Hill Co. subsidiary, has provided customs clearance work for FedEx imports since 1996 at the Memphis, Tenn.-based carrier's international hub in Indianapolis, in Miami and in Newark, N.J. With 1,600 employees at 63 offices in the United States and Canada, Tower is one of the largest customs brokers in North America and a leading player in U.S./Canada trade.
   Tower would give FedEx some of the most advanced Customs clearance technology in the industry, including a digital imaging system the company has built to electronically transfer documents to Customs and clients.
   The move by FedEx to bring brokerage in-house comes as rival United Parcel Service builds up its own import operation through UPS Customshouse Brokerage. Last year, UPS acquired Trans-Border Customs Services, a broker specializing in the U.S.-Canada trade.