Evri tie-up with DHL’s UK parcel arm being probed by competition watchdog

Evri’s deal to merge with rival DHL’s UK parcel arm is being investigated by the UK competition watchdog as the tie-up promises to create one of the UK’s largest delivery firms.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will look into whether the deal could "result in a substantial lessening of competition" in the postal delivery sector.

It is initially gathering comments on the tie-up, with a deadline for submissions of 25 June, before formally launching its investigation.

"The CMA is issuing this preliminary ‘invitation to comment’ to allow interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that the transaction could have on competition in the UK," it said.

Yorkshire-based Evri last month unveiled the deal to merge with rival DHL’s UK e-commerce business in a move which will see it also enter the UK business letter market for the first time, competing further with Royal Mail.

German-owned DHL Group will acquire a "significant minority stake" in Evri as part of the merger.

The two operations, which will operate as Evri Group, will bring together more than 30,000 couriers and van drivers, and 12,000 further workers.

Evri, which was previously part of the Hermes parcel group, was snapped up by US private equity firm Apollo for around £2.7 billion last year.

Apollo will remain the majority shareholder in the business.

The combined company will deliver more than one billion parcels and one billion letters each year, the firms said.

They said the merger will offer "greater choice and cost-competitive solutions" to businesses and consumers, and expand import and export capabilities.

The business will be led by Evri Chief Executive Martijn de Lange, according to the groups.

The deal comes amid a raft of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, with Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services being bought by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group in a £3.6 billion takeover.

In April, Polish parcel locker firm InPost also struck a £100 million deal to buy UK rival Yodel, combining the home delivery and collection networks to form one of the largest logistics groups in Britain.