Linklaters, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Sidley Austin have been called in for parcel delivery company Evri’s merger with DHL eCommerce UK, the e-commerce logistics specialist arm of DHL Group. 

Linklaters is guiding longtime client DHL on the deal. Sidley and Paul Weiss are acting for Evri, having counselled owner Apollo in its £2.7bn acquisition of the company last summer from private equity rival Advent International. 

The Linklaters team is being led by corporate partners Sushil Jacob and Emma Simpson alongside managing associate Sarah Nicholson. The firm has acted for DHL on numerous past matters, including DHL Supply Chain’s investment in e-commerce services business Brandpath last December and, back in 2016, Deutsche Post DHL’s acquisition of UK Mail Group by way of a scheme of arrangement.

Meanwhile, Sidley’s effort is led by private equity partners Jonathon Hamill (London) and Gerald Brant (New York). The duo also led the Sidley team that guided funds managed by Apollo in the Evri acquisition alongside London private equity partner Paul Dunbar, who decamped to A&O Shearman last September alongside Dan Graham. 

The Paul Weiss team is led by London corporate finance partner David Carmona, co-head of the firm’s European alternative credit practice, and Annie Herdman, who joined last year from Ropes & Gray as London head of antitrust and foreign direct investment as part of the firm’s rapid build out in the city.  

Paul Weiss also acted for Apollo in the Evri acquisition, advising funds and affiliates managed by the firm on the financing and international trade and sanctions aspects of the deal. The team was again co-led by Carmona and Herdman alongside capital markets partner Matthew Friedman, global finance and capital markets co-chair Gregory Ezring and global head of derivatives Manuel Frey. 

Evri’s merger with DHL will create a combined courier firm handling more than a billion parcels and a billion business letters a year, DHL said. It will also see Evri enter the UK business letter market for the first time. 

As part of the deal DHL Group will acquire a “significant” minority stake in the combined new Evri Group – financial terms have not been disclosed. 

Evri said the deal would also expand its international delivery capacity by giving it access to DHL’s extensive global network. 

“Over the last decade, Evri has grown ten-fold in size and this transaction will further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets,” Evri CEO, Martijn de Lange said in a statement. 

The new company will use DHL eCommerce’s network for faster transit times, Evri said, with Europe, the US and selected Asian markets including India set to benefit.

Law firms have been benefiting from a string of recent deals in the logistics and deliveries sector. 

In April, Poland-based InPost became the UK’s third-largest delivery firm when it acquired competitor Yodel, with CMS and Fieldfisher advising the respective parties on the deal. 

And last year Paul Weiss advised Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group on the financing and structuring aspects of its £3.6bn acquisition of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS). Kirkland & Ellis also advised EP on the deal, while Slaughter and May acted for IDS.