According to information obtained by News, the companies who have made first bids for Evri, which is purportedly valued at over £2 billion, include Apollo Global Management and Platinum Equity.
Sources in the city claim that the auction, which is being run by bankers at Rothschild, is being attended by a number of significant bidders.
Evri, which rebranded from Hermes in 2022, employs over 20,000 couriers and maintains a network of more than 14,000 lockers and ParcelShops.
Along with many other well-known businesses, Etsy and Vinted are two online marketplaces that use it.
Since 2020, Advent International, a different private equity firm, has owned the business, having acquired it from German mail order giant Otto.
It delivers more than 700 million items a year and holds a nearly 20 percent market share in the UK.
Evri’s auction is taking place while International Distribution Services, the parent company of Parcelforce and owner of Royal Mail, is being taken private.
News reported on Friday that Yodel, which escaped bankruptcy this year, was seeking to bolster its balance sheet by raising tens of millions of pounds.
Advent did not respond to a request for comment, and neither Apollo nor Platinum did either.
