Feb. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. carrier United Parcel Service said Monday it will sue the European Union's antitrust watchdog panel for $2.14 billion, stemming from a failed merger.
The lawsuit stems from a European Commission decision four years ago to block, due to antitrust concerns, a planned $7 billion merger between UPS and Dutch parcel-delivery company TNT Express.
The decision was overturned in an EU court last year.
As the European Commission appeals the judgement, UPS is now seeking compensation. The U.S.-based carrier said in court documents Monday the failed merger kept it from "materializing the benefits" of the transaction.
"We feel strongly that the proposed acquisition would have constituted a good deal for logistics customers," UPS spokesman Gregg Svingen said. "The compensation being sought corresponds to what we believe, through objective assessments verified by expert third parties, to be the value of the opportunity wrongly prohibited by the European Commission."
The suit against the commission comes as the EU's highest courts are closely monitoring the EC's use of power, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
As the EU's antitrust regulator, the European Commission has rarely had a decision overruled by a European court. In high-profile cases involving General Electric, Microsoft and Google, the watchdog agency developed a formidable reputation.
The UPS-TNT merger was blocked because of procedural mistakes made by the commission, the EU court ruling said.
