Within weeks, Amazon.com Inc. is expected to be in direct competition with longtime partner United Parcel Service Inc. – but not in the U.S. At least, not yet.

As speculation swirls about Seattle-based Amazon’s intentions to build out a network that would make it a competitor to Atlanta-based UPS, the online retailer is expected to sometime in the first quarter acquire the 75 percent of the French package-delivery company Colis Privé that it doesn’t already own, The Seattle Times is reporting.

Amazon has a major North Texas presence with fulfillment centers in Haslet and Coppell, and another planned for South Dallas. UPS operates a major regional hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

The full acquisition would make the company a director competitor of UPS (NYSE: UPS), FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and DHL, the paper adds.

Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) top spokesman, Craig Berman, declined to comment on Colis Privé or the company’s plans for the shipping business, the paper said.

In December, The Wall Street Journal reported the relationship between Atlanta-based UPS (NYSE: UPS) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has come under stress.

The report suggested that Amazon could be building its own delivery network and could emerge as a rival to UPS. Former Amazon and UPS executives told WSJ the Amazon account exceeds $1 billion.

Read more here.