Polish unicorn InPost acquires British Yodel for £106M

Polish parcel locker firm InPost has acquired the UK-based parcel delivery company Yodel in a £106 million (€124 million) agreement. The deal will create the third-largest independent delivery business serving online retailers in Britain, according to The Guardian.

About InPost

• Founded in 2006, InPost is a Polish public logistics company, and a leading e-commerce enablement platform in Europe, known for its innovative parcel locker service.
• The company placed its first locker in Kraków in 2009. InPost achieved unicorn status through its IPO in January 2021. The IPO on Euronext Amsterdam raised €2.8 billion, valuing the company at nearly $6.5 billion. 

Deal’s details

• According to InPost, the completion of this deal will establish the combined entity as the third-largest independent logistics provider catering to the UK e-commerce sector. 
• This ranking places them behind industry giants Royal Mail and Evri, while excluding Amazon’s significant in-house delivery operations.
• In the result, the combined business will be delivering more than 300 million parcels in the UK a year, serving more than 700 online retailers. The UK will now make up about 30% of the group’s revenue.

“This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone in InPost’s journey to revolutionise the UK delivery market, as well as the group pan-European presence,” Rafał Brzoska, the founder and chief executive of InPost Group, said in a statement.

This acquisition aims to significantly expand InPost’s presence in the UK, boosting its market share from 2% to approximately 8%. 

This is not the first big acquisition for InPost in the UK. Through 2023 and 2024, the Polish company acquired 100% shares in Menzies, a UK-based delivery company. Inpost’s revenue in the British market exceeded $103 million Q1 of 2024.