According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, Deutsche Post is understood to have appointed investment bank UBS to assist in the sale of Marken, which provides specialist courier services to the medical, pharmaceutical, media, fashion and technology industries. The newspaper said a number of UK-based private equity firms, including PPM, Bridgepoint, Electra and 3i, were interested in acquiring the business. It is understood that there could also be trade buyers. Industry observers were reported to have said the sale of the Marken unit, which this year took in profits in excess of GBP15 million, would not have a large impact on Deutsche Post shares as the business is "simply too small".