EU's Almunia wants UPS to offer concessions on TNT bid

TRIER, Germany Oct 18 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc will have to offer concessions to ease regulatory concerns about its 5.2 billion euro ($6.8 billion) bid for Dutch peer TNT Express, the European Union's antitrust chief said on Thursday.

The European Commission is examining the deal, the biggest in UPS's 105-year history, which will reinforce it as the world No. 1 package delivery company.

"We will send the statement of objections to UPS tomorrow," Almunia told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Academy of European Law in Trier, Germany.

The statement of objections is the regulatory document detailing the Commission's worries about the impact of the deal on rivals and consumers.

"The objections need to be removed by remedies," he said.

Almunia declined to say what kind of concessions he was looking for. The EU competition watchdog typically favours asset sales.