UPS acquires Turkish service agent

UPS acquires Turkish service agent    UPS on Friday said it has entered into a new joint venture headquartered in Dubai to coordinate management and growth of UPS express package, freight forwarding and contract logistics services across the Middle East, Turkey and portions of Central Asia.
   UPS will have a majority stake in the new joint venture that results from the acquisition of the small package operations of its existing service agent in Turkey, Unsped Paket Servisi San ve Ticaret A.S., its existing service agent in Turkey.
   Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, with Unsped Chief Executive Officer Haluk Undeger retaining a minority share in the joint venture. Undeger will also head the new entity. The deal is expected to close in the next month.
   '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.'
   Revenues for Unsped have increased more than 18 percent on a compounded annual growth rate for the past three years, UPS said. Nearly 2,500 employees of Unsped will continue to be managed by the Turkish leadership team and join the joint venture.
   Earlier this year, UPS expanded its domestic express small package pickup and delivery services in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with a single technology platform.