UPS, the American based delivery giant, looks set to swallow up major european competition in the form of TNT Express, with announcements expected early this week and the deal having TNT board approval.

This company has been on the UPS "buy" list for some time but this bid is expected to have more success than the last, three years ago.

The deal has been on the cards for over a year with an increased UPS offer of close to Euro 9.50, expected to seal the deal and value the bid target at close to Euro 5 billion.