30 December 2003

More Mergermania

There have been signs of this one for some time: FedEx is buying Kinko's. According to today's New York Times,

"The FedEx and Kinko's combination will substantially increase our retail presence worldwide and will enable both companies to take advantage of growth opportunities in the fast-moving digital economy,'' said FedEx Chairman and Chief Executive Frederick Smith in a statement.… FedEx, which has been Kinko's shipping provider since 1988, now operates counters in 134 Kinko's stores. It said Kinko's plans to significantly expand its international presence, where it has about 110 locations.

[Reuters] "FedEx to Buy Kinko's" (Dec. 30, 2003) (fake paragraphing removed for clarity).

Considering Kinko's past history of assisting in copyright violations and the unsettled state of international copyright law on fair use ("fair dealing"), this may be of some concern; but we'll just have to see.