LONDON - United Parcel Service (UPS) has agreed to pay 5.1 billion euros ($6.7 billion) to buy Dutch rival TNT Express, with the deal set to be announced on Monday, two people familiar with the talks said.

The world's largest package-delivery firm is expected to offer around 9.5 euros a share, two sources said, to win over TNT Express's shareholders after a bid of 9 euros a share was rejected.

The Financial Times had earlier reported a deal had been reached at a similar price.

A tie-up would give UPS a significant presence in Europe, putting it in a stronger position to compete with German rival DHL.

TNT Express, which employs people 83,000 worldwide and 3,000 in the Netherlands, has unspecified pension liabilities and is the middle of a costly restructuring plan to counter declining delivery volumes and reduce costs.

Sources previously said the companies had resolved issues including the location of TNT's headquarters, employment and the pension fund after TNT rejected UPS's bid in February.

The Financial Times reported the deal followed pressure on the TNT from activist shareholders, led by the U.S. hedge fund Jana Partners, who pushed for the break-up of the former TNT into TNT Express and the Dutch postal company PostNL in May. PostNL holds a 29.9 per cent stake in TNT Express.

UPS, which under Dutch law was requited to provide an update on the status of the talks four week after its initial approach, had said on Friday that it remained interested in buying TNT Express but needed more time.

Sources close to TNT and UPS had told Reuters then the parties had yet to reach an agreement on price, as TNT's poor results had made a compromise harder to reach.