Stymied in its effort to acquire TNT Express NV to expand in Europe overnight, United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS) on Thursday kicked off plan B by announcing its intention to buy Hungarian pharmaceutical logistics company Cemelog Zrt for an undisclosed sum.

Atlanta-based UPS in January walked away from its €5.16 billion ($6.89 billion) deal for Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based TNT after it was unable to reach an agreement on concessions with European antitrust regulators.

UPS had hoped to use that deal, which would have combined Europe's second- and third-largest shippers, to bulk up overseas ahead of an expected uptick in shipping volumes as the global economy improves.

Unable to quickly expand in Europe overnight, UPS was expected to instead adopt the strategy of archrival FedEx Corp. and focus on smaller deals to add specific capabilities. Budapest-based Cemelog, a 14-year-old provider of logistics to the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries across Central and Eastern Europe, fits that description.

UPS chairman and CEO Scott Davis in a statement said that the purchase "is a continuation of our ongoing growth strategy across our business units and allows us to create innovative solutions for our customers that leverage UPS's global network."

The deal adds three facilities with about 255,000 square feet of space to UPS's European network. UPS currently operates more than 6.4 million square feet of dedicated healthcare space in 41 facilities worldwide.

UBS is acting as financial adviser to UPS.

Separately Thursday, UPS officials said that the company was able to record an after-tax gain of $36 million in the first quarter related to its attempt to buy TNT. The company said it recorded a $213 million gain from converting cash that had been set aside as euros ahead of the deal back into dollars, more than enough to offset $177 million in charges including the deal's termination fee and other transaction-related costs.

UPS said the euros that were converted were purchased in 2012 when the currency was near all-time lows, and then sold for a profit in early 2013.