Investor Demands Clarity on Cartel Allegations Against DHL

Investor DWS is pressing logistics giant DHL for transparency regarding cartel allegations facing the Bonn-based company in its mail division.

Deutscher Versand Services GmbH (DVS) has filed a cartel lawsuit against DHL, with an initial oral hearing already held, DWS representative Hendrik Schmidt said on Friday during DHL's annual general meeting in Bonn, according to his prepared remarks. The competitor estimates the damages at around one billion euros. "Is the DHL Group the right owner for this business segment?" Schmidt asked, referring to the mail business of Deutsche Post's parent company.

A DVS co-shareholder, investor 7Square Partners, has already addressed this issue in a letter to DHL's management and supervisory board, demanding "immediate consequences," Schmidt added. He called on DHL to explain during the shareholder meeting how the executive and supervisory boards had dealt with the letter. "Please provide a detailed overview of this case, particularly regarding the expected timeline," he urged.

In the letter seen by Reuters, 7Square Partners accused DHL of systematically suppressing competition in the mail segment for business customers. Among other points, DVS alleges that the market leader Deutsche Post undercut minimum prices for direct mail advertising letters (Dialogpost), thereby securing contracts from companies that would otherwise have gone to DVS. Dialogpost is targeted direct mail sent to households. According to 7Square, Deutsche Post's practices suggest that the company has not fully accepted the market liberalization intended by lawmakers.

"The facts have been known for some time and there are no new developments," DHL, Deutsche Post's parent company, stated in response. The lawsuit is ongoing in court. "We have a fundamentally different legal view from DVS and will vigorously defend our position in court," the DAX-listed company emphasized.

DWS, the fund management company, has previously advocated for DHL, the global logistics player, to consider spinning off its German mail and parcel business. "Is Deutsche Post the right owner for the Post & Parcel division?" Schmidt asked at the last annual meeting in 2024. The fund company Deka had also raised similar questions.

DHL CEO Tobias Meyer has repeatedly rejected the idea of separating the German mail and parcel business. However, citing the complex legal structure of the Bonn-based group, he initiated the creation of a standalone entity for the business last year. "We believe in this business strategically," he said at the time: "The mail and parcel business in Germany are inextricably linked." The mail and parcel division employs nearly 190,000 people in Germany. The division is under pressure from a continued decline in mail volume--Meyer aims to offset this with growth in the parcel market.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; editing by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at [e-mail] (for politics and economics) or [e-mail] (for companies and markets).)