DHL Express CEO has no plans for big M&A - paper

FRANKFURT, April 4 (Reuters) - The chief executive of DHL Express, a division of Europe's biggest mail and express delivery group Deutsche Post DHL, told a newspaper he is not interested in making any big takeovers at the moment.

"At the moment, I would rather swallow razor blades than take over larger competitors. This phase is behind us. We prefer to grow organically - in a very controlled manner," Ken Allen, also a member of Deutsche Post's management board, told Handelsblatt in an interview published on Wednesday.

U.S. rival UPS last month said it would buy Dutch peer TNT Express for 5.2 billion euros ($6.9 billion), to boost its position as the world's largest package delivery company outside the United States.

Asked whether DHL had missed an opportunity by not participating in the TNT sale, Allen said: "Absolutely not. I find it hard to understand why one would invest such a big sum ... in a loss-making company. UPS needs significant synergies, about 400-500 million euros, to make it work."

Allen said he was not worried about increased competition from the takeover of TNT by UPS, which will give the U.S. company market leadership in Europe's package delivery business.

"If you look at TNT, you will realise that the company is facing many problems outside of Europe. Meanwhile, the company's earnings in Europe have clearly dropped in the last few quarters. In short, I do not see why the acquisition should give UPS any significant advantage," he said.