InPost's £106m Acquisition of Yodel Hits Legal Roadblock
Deal News | May 20, 2025 | Business Cloud
InPost's planned acquisition of Yodel has encountered a legal hurdle as London-based Shift and Corja Holdings filed an injunction, leading the High Court to issue an order limiting InPost's ability to integrate the UK logistics company. The acquisition, valued at £106 million, was set to give InPost 95.5% of Yodel's parent company, Judge Logistics Ltd, with expectations of bolstering InPost's market share in the UK logistics sector. However, the acquisition is under scrutiny as Shift and Corja Holdings hold warrants for a controlling stake in Yodel. Despite the opposition, InPost proceeded with the acquisition announcement, but now their strategic plans are paused under court protection orders.
Sectors
- Logistics
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
Geography
- United Kingdom – The acquisition concerns UK-based Yodel and involves UK legal proceedings, impacting the local logistics market.
- Poland – InPost is a Poland-based company, making this a significant cross-border acquisition involving Polish business interests.
Industry
- Logistics – The article focuses on InPost's acquisition attempt of Yodel, a significant player in the logistics and delivery industry, emphasizing the sector's strategic business moves.
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) – The article features a halted acquisition, highlighting the complexities and challenges in executing deals in the M&A sector.
Financials
- £106 million – The acquisition price for Yodel by InPost.
- 95.5% – InPost's intended acquisition percentage of Judge Logistics Ltd's share capital.
- 4.5% – The minority stake held by PayPoint in Judge Logistics Ltd.
- 66% – The controlling interest in Yodel's share capital reportedly held by Shift and Corja Holdings through warrants.
- 8% – The projected increase in InPost's UK market share had the acquisition proceeded.
Participants
| Name | Role | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| InPost | Acquiring Company | Company | A Poland-based logistics platform attempting to acquire Yodel. |
| Yodel | Target Company | Company | A UK-based delivery network targeted for acquisition by InPost. |
| Shift | Legal Challenger | Company | A London-based logistics platform that filed an injunction to block the acquisition. |
| Corja Holdings | Legal Challenger | Company | An entity solely owned by Jacob Corlett, acting to block the acquisition. |
| Jacob Corlett | Founder of Shift and Owner of Corja Holdings | Person | The individual contesting the acquisition based on existing warrants. |
| Judge Logistics Ltd | Parent Company of Yodel | Company | The parent company of Yodel, for which InPost was set to acquire a majority stake. |
| PayPoint | Minority Stakeholder | Company | Retains a minority stake of 4.5% in Judge Logistics Ltd. |