Exclusive-JD.com among possible bidders for British parcel company Evri, sources say

FILE PHOTO: People wait for bus near a billboard of JD.com advertisement for the "618" shopping festival, in Beijing, China June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Kane Wu

LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese online retailer JD.com has emerged as one of several companies exploring a potential bid for British parcel delivery company Evri, two people familiar with the matter said.

Reuters reported earlier this year the owner of Evri was working with advisers on options, including a potential sale of the business, which could be valued at around 2 billion pounds ($2.53 billion) including debt.

JD.com is through to the second stage of bidding after submitting a non-binding offer last month, the people said.

Other potential bidders include Polish parcel locker firm InPost and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's logistics arm, Cainiao, the people said.

The companies' interest may or may not result in a final offer, one of the people cautioned, who requested anonymity as the matter is confidential.

Private equity fund Advent International owns a 75% stake in Evri, while German mail order company Otto Group holds the remainder of the business. Evri referred requests for comment to Advent, which declined to comment. Otto Group declined to comment.

JD.com and Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment. InPost, in which Advent has a stake 15% stake according to LSEG data, declined to comment.

JD.com's interest in Evri comes after it considered bidding for British electrical group Curry's in February, ultimately deciding not to make an offer. The group, which operates a logistic arm via JD Logistics, already has a partnership with Evri that aims to give European brands greater access to China.

The sale of Evri comes as the Royal Mail owner, International Distribution Services, is in the process of being taken private by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Apollo Global Management, previously reported by Sky News as a potential bidder for Evri, is also through to the second stage of bidding, one of the people said. Apollo declined to comment.

Evri was previously known as Hermes before Advent took a majority stake in the UK business in 2020, as well as a 25% stake in Hermes Germany from Otto Group. Hermes UK became Evri under Advent's ownership in 2022.

($1 = 0.7910 pounds)

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley and Kane Wu; additional reporting by Sophie Yu in Beijing and Casey Hall in Shanghai. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Sharon Singleton)