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AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) Monday said it expects its planned EUR5.16 billion ($6.8 billion) acquisition of smaller Dutch package-shipping rival TNT Express NV (TNTE.AE) to secure antitrust approval by European authorities without a time-consuming in-depth investigation.

"We've done extensive work and expect to get E.U. antitrust clearance after a phase one review," said UPS Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn, referring to the initial review that Brussels undertakes when it is notified of any merger transaction. A phase-one review usually lasts 25 days though the Commission can extend the review for another 90 days.

In a sign of the U.S. logistics giant's confidence the takeover won't be blocked in Brussels, UPS has agreed to a "reverse breakup fee" of EUR200 million--roughly 3% of the deal's value--which it would pay TNT Express if the deal falls foul of competition concerns, a relatively large amount by European standards.

Still, Germany's Deutsche Post AG (DPW.XE), whose DHL unit is the companies' main rival in Europe, expects the deal to be subject to intense antitrust scrutiny by the European Union since TNT Express will be in the hands of one of the two companies that dominate the U.S. market alongside Fedex Corp. (FDX), Deutsche Post spokesman Dirk Klasen said.

A spokesman for E.U. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia declined to comment.

Assessing how dominant a position the enlarged UPS would have in Europe is difficult because the package-shipping industry is segmented by the weight of parcel, the speed of delivery service, and destination, whether domestic or international, said John Manners-Bell, the head of U.K.-based logistics-industry consultancy Transport Intelligence.

"It's very difficult to compare the four big players because they break out volumes and revenues in different ways," Manners-Bell said.

Transport Intelligence's calculations show that a combined UPS and TNT, Europe's third-largest express-service provider, would have 35% of the market for next-day parcel delivery in Europe behind DHL's 39%, based on 2011 revenue. Fedex has 12% of this segment.

Possibly of greater concern to the E.U. would be the merged company's position in the more broadly defined express delivery service for heavier parcels with two-to-three day delivery, Manners-Bells said.

The enlarged UPS would extend its leading position in the U.K. and Italian markets and overtake Geopost, a unit of France's state-owned mail company La Poste, in France, by revenue in the more broadly-defined express segment. In contrast, the combined company's overall European market share would be only narrowly ahead of DHL at 18% compared with the German company's 17%, according to Transport Intelligence's calculations.

The E.U. has paid close attention to logistics companies in the past. DHL, UPS, Switzerland's Panalpina World Transport Ltd., Germany's Kuehne & Nagel International AG (KNIN.VX), and Denmark's DSV A/S (DSV.KO) were charged with price-fixing by the E.U. Commission in 2010. The investigation is still underway.

Antitrust authorities lately have taken a hard line in assessing some big trans-Atlantic combinations. Most recently, Brussels blocked the planned merger of Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) and NYSE Euronext (NYX) because of competition concerns in the European market for derivatives trading.

UPS, the world's largest international package shipper by revenue ahead of FedEx, earlier Monday confirmed an offer of EUR9.50 a share for TNT Express, equivalent to a 54% premium to the Dutch company's stock price Feb. 16 when the companies first announced they were in talks. The combined group would have annual revenue of more than EUR45 billion, with around 36% generated outside the U.S.

"The additional capabilities and broadened global footprint will support the growth and globalization of our customers' businesses," said UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis.

The deal, assuming it passes antitrust scrutiny in Europe, would bring to an end a turbulent period in TNT Express's history in which major shareholders and the company's board fell out over the company's strategy as its performance deteriorated.

At 1330 GMT, TNT Express shares were up 1.1% at EUR9.45.

-By Robin van Daalen and Kirsten Bienk, Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 52 01; robin.vandaalen@dowjones.com

(Matthew Curtin in Paris, Frances Robinson in Brussels, Neetha Mahadevan in Frankfurt, Dana Cimilucca in London, and Gina Chon in New York contributed to this article)

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