Amazon Planning Acquisitions to Tackle UPS, FedEx

Fortune has reported that Amazon is expected to acquire French shipping company Colis Privé, as part of a plan to take on FedEx and UPS, according to The Seattle Times.

The e-commerce giant already owns 25% of the French company through an investment in 2014.

But now Amazon wants to acquire the remaining 75%.

According to the report, Colis Privé will continue to ship packages on behalf of all e-commerce customers after the acquisition.

The deal would close in the first quarter.

But the acquisition’s broader implications would be Amazon going head-to-head with FedEx, DHL, and UPS in France.

It would be part of a bigger move by Amazon to own and manage shipping and distribution services instead of relying on others.

Amazon has been operating its own air freight service in Europe, according to a report from The Evening Standard. The company has leased air miles on a single plane that flew from Germany to Poland to the UK repeatedly, delivering packages and parcels.

A report from The Wall Street Journal highlighted the strained relationship between UPS and Amazon, its largest client, in America. According to the WSJ, the Amazon account at UPS is worth around $1 billion (£650 million).

This isn’t the first time Amazon has acquired a stake in a delivery firm: The company bought a 4.2% stake in Yodel, a UK-based delivery firm, in 2014.

Amazon currently relies on UPS, the USPS and FedEx to deliver packages to customers’ doorsteps.

But with the company’s expected delivery drones and even its own fleet of trucks, Amazon is slowly taking over these operations and relying less on the multinational shipping giants.

The e-commerce giant is also reportedly negotiating to lease 20 Boeing 767 jets to transport products and get them to customer homes more quickly.

Related: Amazon Starting its Own Air Cargo Operation