The Evri and DHL eCommerce UK Merger: Lessons in Commercial Law, Competition Policy, and Deal Strategy

A new delivery giant has landed, but what does it mean legally and logistically?

To start off, both DHL and Evri are well-known as parcel delivery services with an expansive presence in the UK. Their key distinctions lie in operations, whereby DHL delivers secure and high-value items through their system of couriers and vehicles. In contrast, Evri handles an abundance of lower-value parcels delivered by independent couriers in their own vehicles.

Announced in May 2025, the merger received the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) approval in September and was officially completed on the 1st of October 2025. Linklaters acted as legal advisor for DHL; meanwhile, on the Evri side, there was a combination of Sidley Austin for corporate, and Paul Weiss, Rifkind, and Wharton & Garrison for financing and antitrust matters.

In terms of competition law, the UK parcel-delivery market enjoys fierce competition, with major businesses like Royal Mail, Amazon Logistics, and Yodel. This contributed to the CMA’s conclusion that the deal would not result in a substantial lessening of competition. Operating under the new entity “Evri Premium – A Network of DHL eCommerce,” the merger brings together each company’s core operations and aims to rival Royal Mail’s nationwide reach.

While there isn’t much publicly accessible information on the financial aspects of the deal, it is understood that DHL Group acquired a significant minority stake in Evri, while allowing Apollo Global Management to retain majority control.

Student re-focus

The effect of the merger is abundant. Evri Premium – A Network of DHL eCommerce will now handle low-value and high-value parcels as Evri absorbs DHL eCommerce UK operations to offer a distinct ‘premium’ service. Evri also enters the UK letter-delivery market and gains access to over 150,000 cross-border access points and a combined number of 15,000 ‘out-of-home’ delivery locations. The scale of this deal and its impact make it a critical subject for competition law and governance matters in corporate law.