European parcel delivery group InPost has acquired a 30% stake in Edinburgh-based Menzies Distribution for £49.3 million.
The deal includes a three-year option to buy the remaining 70% of the Scottish company, which employs about 5,000 people providing newspaper distribution, business-to-business final mile delivery, and other transportation and warehousing services. It follows an agreement earlier this year in which Menzies became InPost's exclusive logistics provider in the UK.
The deal comes less than five years after the road haulage business was sold by its parent company to private equity group Endless for £74.5m. John Menzies severed its historic ties with the newspaper trade to focus on its aviation services operations.
Endless remains Menzies' largest shareholder with a 52% stake in the business. The remaining 18% is owned by other shareholders including the distribution firm's management team led by chief executive Greg Michael.
Headquartered in Poland, InPost has a network of more than 20,000 parcel delivery lockers and provides to-door courier services. It is Poland's leading e-commerce enablement platform, and has growing operations in France, Benelux, Iberia, the UK and Italy.
InPost said the partnership will allow it to "scale at speed" to meet growing consumer demand.
"With this strategic transaction, we have reached a significant milestone, which represents and exciting opportunity for both our UK business and InPost Group as a whole," chief executive Rafal Brzoska said.
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"With Menzies we can offer a unique service in the UK e-co9mmerce market by delivering parcels over 360 days a year. We look forward to the transformative impact of this partnership."
Mr Michael added: "We are proud to partner with InPost and are excited about the opportunities this will create for our clients, our business, and our people.
"InPost and Menzies are uniquely positioned to deliver fast, sustainable delivery and returns in the UK benefitting consumers, retailers, suppliers, and our colleagues. We look forward to the future and supporting InPost's next phase of growth in the UK."
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