UPS said to seek agreement on TNT takeover

United Parcel Service Inc. is seeking to reach an agreement to buy TNT Express NV as soon as next week after making progress in discussions on jobs and pensions, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

The companies are now primarily focusing on price negotiations, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is private. TNT may struggle to get a price much higher than the Feb. 11 offer of 9 euros a share because the stock is trading at 9.35 euros and the company reported a full-year operating loss, the person said. Talks could still break down, and a deal may not be reached.

UPS said today in a statement that “constructive discussions” continue and it extended takeover talks with TNT after four weeks of negotiations that followed the $6.4 billion offer. Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based TNT, Europe's second-largest package delivery company, rejected that proposal. A successful combination would catapult Atlanta-based UPS to equal footing in Europe with Deutsche Post AG's DHL unit, the market leader.

TNT's board was unhappy with terms attached to the first bid that may have required divestitures to win regulatory approval, possibly leading to job cuts, a person familiar with the matter said last month. The two companies will need to address possible antitrust concerns in Europe, one of the people said today. TNT and UPS have reached an agreement on plans for TNT's European headquarters, that person said.

Spokesmen for UPS and TNT declined to comment.