DHL's UK parcel delivery business and Evri will merge after DHL Group acquired a “significant minority stake” in the courier.
The combined business of Evri and DHL eCommerce, the e-commerce logistics specialist of DHL Group, will bring together a team of 30,000-plus couriers and van drivers with a fleet of 8,000 vehicles to deliver more than one billion parcels and one billion letters a year.
DHL's e-commerce business will be renamed ‘Evri Premium – a network of DHL eCommerce’.
The deal comes less than a year after private equity firm Apollo reached an agreement to buy Evri from Advent International in a £2.7 billion deal.
Apollo was reported to have won in a fight to acquire the parcel giant involving Chinese internet group JD.com and DHL.
Evri chairman and Apollo partner, Alex van Hoek, said: “By embracing technology and innovation, Evri has grown from strength to strength in a dynamic e-commerce market.
“With DHL's complementary expertise and strong network, the business is well positioned to further improve its reliable services and the customer experience.”
Martijn de Lange, CEO of Evri, explained that over the past decade Evri has grown ten-fold in size. “This transaction will further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets,” he added.
“Since Apollo-managed funds came on board as our owners, they have backed our intent to drive forward and grow to become the UK's premier parcel delivery business.”
Speaking to Fleet News in 2023, Evri head of fleet, David Landy (pictured below), said that the business was operating a 5,650-strong fleet consisting of 800 cars, 700 vans, 550 12t/18t rigids, 500 tractor units and 3,100 trailers.
DHL delivers a billion letters a year in the UK, mainly for businesses sending out bulk mail to clients – and the merger will see Evri offer a letter service for the first time.
It hopes to use this service to handle deliveries of smaller items as well as letters.
The group said its combined operation will have access to a network of 15,000 out-of-home delivery points in shops and lockers.
With about a billion parcels a year, the merged business would get closer to Royal Mail's parcel volumes. It delivered 1.3 billion parcels and 6.7 billion letters last year, according to its annual report.
Pablo Ciano, CEO of DHL eCommerce, says that the partnership is a “great fit”, enabling it to be able to offer “more efficient” and “innovative solutions” to keep up with the market.
“By joining forces in the UK, we're creating a one-stop shop for all our customers' parcel needs here and giving them better delivery options from around the world,” he added.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, while DHL's other services in the UK, such as the DHL Express international delivery service, are not included in the deal.
The merger is still subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).