The private equity giant Apollo Global Management is on the brink of a deal to buy Evri, the British parcel delivery company, in a £2.7bn deal.
Sky News has learnt that Apollo has seen off competition to acquire the company from rivals including JD.com, the Chinese internet group, and DHL.
The deal could be announced as soon as Thursday afternoon, according to banking sources.
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Apollo’s agreement to buy Evri, which delivers more than 700 million parcels each year, reflects the more complex antitrust implications of a sale to another industrial buyer, the sources added.
Platinum Equity, another private equity firm, also made an offer for Evri.
Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, the investment bans, oversaw the auction on behalf of Advent International, the existing owner.
Advent acquired it from German mail order company Otto.
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Evri, which changed its name from Hermes in 2022, uses more than 20,000 couriers and has a network of over 14,000 ParcelShops and lockers.
It is used by a large number of prominent retailers as well as the online platforms Etsy and Vinted, and has a near-20% share of the UK market.
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The sale of Evri comes as Parcelforce’s parent, the Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services, is in the process of being taken private.
Sky News recently revealed that Yodel, which narrowly averted collapse this year, was raising tens of millions of pounds to strengthen its balance sheet.
Advent and Apollo have been contacted for comment.