A consortium of private investors led by FedEx on Monday reached an agreement on an all-cash offer to buy publicly traded InPost, a fast-growing express delivery firm based in Poland for 7.8 billion euros (equivalent to $9.2 billion) as FedEx moves to capture a larger share of the of the European B2C market. FedEx (NYSE: FDX), which would take a 37% stake in InPost, is partnered with private equity firm Advent; investment company A&R, which is controlled by InPost founder Rafal Brzoska and currently owns 12% of InPost shares; and PPF Group, a large investment and industrial holding company. FedEx’s minority stake will allow the parcel logistics integrator to quickly tap into the rapid growth of out-of-home parcel delivery across key European markets and allow global customers to access InPost’s network, where parcel volumes have quadrupled over five years as consumers increasingly make retail purchases online. The financial backing will help InPost continue its expansion across Europe and install more automated parcel machines. The companies said in their announcement that there is an opportunity to significantly grow InPost’s out-of-home delivery network across Europe with rising consumer demand for frictionless delivery service. InPost specializes in out-of-home delivery, using a network of 61,000 parcel lockers and more than 34,000 pick-up/drop-off points in several countries to support more than 100,000 e-commerce sellers. It also offers front-door service. InPost last year acquired Yodel for $144 million, making it the third-largest independent parcel operator in the UK, and Spain-based courier Sending. The carrier’s parcel volumes…
