Evri and DHL UK merge to form Parcel Giant, advised by Linklaters, Paul Weiss and Sidley Austin
Evri is set to become a UK logistics behemoth after merging with DHL eCommerce UK, with legal heavyweights Linklaters, Paul Weiss and Sidley Austin steering the transaction.
Linklaters is advising longtime client DHL, while Paul Weiss and Sidley are acting for Evri, which private equity firm Apollo acquired just last summer in a £2.7bn deal. The merger will create a courier titan handling over a billion parcels and business letters annually, expanding Evri’s reach both domestically and internationally.
Corporate partners Sushil Jacob and Emma Simpson are leading the Linklaters team, supported by managing associate Sarah Nicholson. The firm has a long track record with DHL, including its 2016 purchase of UK Mail and, more recently, a strategic investment in Brandpath in December.
Embed from Getty ImagesEvri, which was known as Hermes until its rebrand in 2022, has tapped Sidley and Paul Weiss once again following Apollo’s takeover. Sidley’s team includes London private equity partner Jonathon Hamill and New York counterpart Gerald Brant — the same duo who advised Apollo on last year’s acquisition. Paul Dunbar, who also played a key role in that transaction, left Sidley for A&O Shearman last September.
Paul Weiss is fielding a strong London-based team led by corporate finance partner David Carmona and antitrust head Annie Herdman, a 2024 hire from Ropes & Gray. Herdman’s addition marked a significant step in the firm’s rapid UK expansion. The firm is also bringing in capital markets partner Matthew Friedman, global finance co-chair Gregory Ezring, and derivatives chief Manuel Frey.
The deal marks a strategic move for both Evri and DHL. Under the agreement, DHL will take a “significant” minority stake in the combined entity, now called the Evri Group, though the financial terms remain undisclosed. The transaction gives Evri unprecedented access to DHL’s global logistics network, boosting its capacity in Europe, the US, India, and other key Asian markets.
Evri CEO Martijn de Lange celebrated the deal, saying, “Over the last decade, Evri has grown ten-fold in size. This transaction will further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets.”
The merger also marks Evri’s entry into the UK’s business letter delivery sector — a major shift in scope. Faster transit times and increased scale are expected as the company integrates DHL’s eCommerce infrastructure.
The move comes amid a flurry of legal activity in the logistics sector. In April, InPost became the UK’s third-largest delivery company after acquiring Yodel, with CMS and Fieldfisher advising on the deal. Last year, Paul Weiss also advised Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group on its £3.6bn acquisition of Royal Mail parent International Distribution Services (IDS), working alongside Kirkland & Ellis. Slaughter and May represented IDS.
The Evri-DHL merger cements the growing importance of high-value logistics transactions for top City and US law firms. With rising parcel volumes and fierce market competition, firms like Linklaters, Sidley and Paul Weiss are increasingly becoming the go-to legal architects for shaping the future of British delivery.
