Private equity firms eye Evri deal

A number of private equity firms are reportedly interested in acquiring parcel delivery company Evri, according to Sky News.

The outlet revealed that Apollo Global Management and Platinum Equity are thought to be among the parties to have lodged an initial offer for Evri, which is valued at around £2bn.

It comes as the group, originally known as Hermes, is at the centre of an auction process run by German bank Rothschild.

Reports of a potential deal first circulated at the start of this year when its owner Advent International began talks with advisers from Rothschild to explore options for the company.

Advent International acquired a 75% stake in Evri back in 2020 and loaded the business with more than £1bn in debt.

The remaining 25% of the business is owned by German mail order group Otto. In 2022, the group extracted a £762m dividend.

The news also comes as Evri announced it has accelerated its commitment to sustainability by investing a further £19m into plans to fast-track the rollout of electric cargo bikes to deliver parcels and reduce emissions.

This will see Evri grow its fleet of e-cargo bikes from 33 to 99 and electric vehicles (EVs) from 168 to 270 within the next year. The business also has plans to grow its fleet of electric cargo bikes to 3,000 over the next decade – as part of its wider plans to reduce carbon emissions across its network and become a net-zero company by 2035.

Martijn De Lange, CEO at Evri, said: “iPedal power will rev up our efforts to reimagine parcel deliveries in the UK as we aim to become the biggest operator of e-cargo bikes in the sector. We achieved a 9% decrease in carbon emissions since last year. The £19m investment announced today will lay the groundwork for Evri to dial up on its ambition to become the UK’s most sustainable parcel carrier.”