Adriaan Mol’s Post

PPF Group becomes the biggest shareholder in InPost!   In May 2023, PPF acquired a 15% stake in InPost from Advent at EUR 10.00/share, with an option for an additional 15%. Prior to this, PPF already held an approx. 1.7% in InPost. In December 2023, PPF bought an additional 5% at EUR 10.50/share, reaching an approx 21.7% stake. Advent International also granted PPF an option for another 10%. Last Friday, PPF exercised this option, which would normally have brought its stake at approximately 31.8%. In parallel to exercising its option, PPF sold on a 3% stake in InPost to to Claure Group. The interesting element about this deal is that Claure Group is that it is owned by Marcelo Claure, a technology entrepreneur and investor. Marcelo also happens to be Vice Chairman of SHEIN Group, and in his career, he has also been CEO of Sprint and CEO of Softbank Group International. So what’s behind this decision? For some time Advent has apparently been seeking to gradually reduce its stake in InPost and safely cash in on its investment after having been a shareholder for 7 years. For PPF, the investment in InPost seems to be part of its new strategy with a clearer focus on investing in Europe and North America. What is even more interesting, is that PPF was also mentioned as one of the contestants to buy Packeta, which ended up in the arms of CVC Capital Partners and Emerging Markets Capital, a.s.. The latter happens to be an investment company controlled by Jiri Smejc, who is also the CEO of PPF. Besides, there are close ties between PPF and Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Holding (owners of large minority stakes in Royal Mail and PostNL). Friday’s deal also establishes an indirect link to Shein Group. All in all, this should be ample to pique your interest in what could be next…so watch my posts to get the latest! Thanks to my buddy Henk Slotboom's valuable input into this post. Any comments from my Last Mile Experts budddies and learned friends Mirek GralGreg UrbanJacek PowalkaWojtek ForoncewiczArkadiusz KawaGary WinterDetlef SymanskiFelipe Tabilo ChirinoTony Jasinski.  

How can you estimate the value of an ecommerce company? If you are planning to buy or even sell, then this article by Karsten Deppert in Sweden has a lot of good tips. Good thoughts worth reading to avoid.... 💸

In FY23, Shiprocket made six acquisitions to evolve from a simple shipping aggregator to a comprehensive e-commerce enabler. This has necessitated a reorganisation of its structure and a reshuffle of its leadership. If FY23 was a year of acquisitions, FY24 was about integrating Shiprocket’s new purchases. The company now has three main product verticals—cross-border shipping, domestic shipping, and checkout and ads—and a slew of functional verticals. The company has moved some of its senior leaders around to better manage this new-look structure. It also retained top executives from its various acquisitions, with some even a part of its leadership team as Shiprocket prioritises onboarding and retaining great product leaders. To know more about the changes taking place at the Gurugram-based unicorn and see who its leaders are, read the full story here:

📢 OIC Weekly Newsletter: Stay updated with the latest updates of the primary market from last week! 🌐 Uber Eats to Acquire Foodpanda Taiwan for US$950 Million: Uber Technologies will acquire Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda in Taiwan for US$950 million, marking a significant cross-border deal. This acquisition also includes Uber buying US$300 million in Delivery Hero shares. The merger, pending regulatory approval, could consolidate Uber’s market dominance in Taiwan, raising monopoly concerns. 🌐 United Bankshares Acquires Piedmont Bancorp for $267 Million: United Bankshares will acquire Piedmont Bancorp in an all-stock transaction valued at $267 million. The deal, expected to close by early 2025, gives Piedmont shareholders a 5.4% ownership stake and marks United's strategic expansion into the Greater Atlanta area. Tap below to dive into the details! 👇

M&A Weekly: Getting you up to speed with the latest dealmaking news from last week! ⛽️ In the latest deal surrounding the energy sector, Morrisons is set to sell its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group. 🎰 In order to capitalise on the growing digital gambling sector, FDJ takes over Unibet’s parent company Kindred Group. 👷 Holcim decides to spin-off and list its US business reaches a valuation of $30bn, deemed to successful for a subsidiary. 🤖 Amazon cancels its acquisition of iRobot, a significant shift in its expansion strategy into smart home technology. 🧑⚖️ EU regulators officially appear as the reasons behind Amazon’s cancellation of its iRobot potential takeover. Make sure to follow MergerSight on our social media platforms to be updated with the latest M&A news! Sign up to our exclusive weekly newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/ic1Kyv For complete analysis of the world's most interesting M&A transactions, and to sign up to our newsletter, check out our website https://lnkd.in/gvZa6Xp #MergerSight #mergersandacquisitions #news #privateequity #pe #fuel #morrisons #mfg #fdj #unibet #holcim #infrastructure #technology #robot #amazon #regulators By Victor Zheng, Axel Nkam, Arthur Delfour, Clément MELUSSON & Melvin BERGERET (ESCP partner branch) and Victor Paquet & Pierre Six (MergerSight Operations)

So, the Grab and Transcab merger got denied. While more availability could mean better efficiency, it's crucial to keep the market competitive. Competition drives innovation and ensures fair prices for consumers. What do you think – should this merger have been allowed, or is it better to maintain a competitive landscape? #RideHailing #Innovation #Singapore #Grab #Tada #Ryde #GoJek #ComfortDelGro https://lnkd.in/gUzsqbrr

Over one billion SEK turnover and 21858 tonnes of food and consumer products re-circulated! Last Friday in our internal all-hands meeting I reflected over how proud I am over what we have achieved in the last 2.5 years: > Revenue growth of ~ 150% > Turned the Swedish market profitable by increasing profit by >10%-pts > Launched a fully automated warehouse in the Nordics > Grown the brand awareness in Germany from 8 to 28% > Built a high performing organization with faster and clearer decision making and stronger cross-functional collaboration > Increased our experimentation and trying new things - # A/B tests increased by 900% > Improved and extended our assortment > Launched a B2B offer ....and the list goes on! It has certainly not come easy as the last years transition from growth-focused to profitable growth has meant a lot of changes and tough decisions, on top of the fact that food e-com has declined post-pandemic. We have also transitioned into a more mature scale-up in terms of how we operate and steer. All results comes from 100% hard work by our amazing team 💪 The future is bright - as affordable sustainability and circular businesses continue to prove themselves. Amongst other things, we look forward to soon have: > a profitable Nordic region > Automation in the DACH warehouse to enable better faster deliveries to customers as well as significantly reduced costs > An improved customer experience throughout- making it easier and more affordable to shop sustainably We are on the mission to make saved food an ingredient of everyday life and there's still more work to be done. Lets go! #savefirst #nowaste #matsmart #motatos #adifferentkindoffoodstore

💥💥 Exciting times for the #cstore industry in #Asia!!💥 💥 Asia's newest #Billionaire, is the #founder of Malaysian #convenienceretail chain 99 Speedmart. One of the best IPOs in the Malaysian stock market (largest Malaysian IPO in seven years), but what's even cooler is that Lee Thiam Wah, never gave up any stake until the IPO! Cool facts: 👉 #ecommerce, #quickcommere, other retail formats and #conveniencestore chains also present in Malaysia. 👉 Still The company saw a second-quarter profit of 125.5 ringgit — a 66.3% year-over-year increase, Reuters  👉 #99SpeedMart also posted a revenue of over 9,000 million ringgit in 2023, over four times that of its main competitor, 7-Eleven Malaysia, per its #IPO prospectus. Charak Almast | Mani Dev Gyawali | New Shop | Sachinn Rana | Vivek Kant | Bharti K Shandilya | Navdeep Sharma | Kartikay Singh

“High-street consolidators have significantly outperformed the wider market in the past year. Expect their shopping [spree] to continue”. I’ve been watching the stealth acquisitions by Frasers Group, Next and Marks and Spencer with interest. I’m especially a big fan of Next (as an industry geek not shopper) and it’s smart platform model. Both Frasers and Next are increasing their retail dominance by acquiring mid-market brands that are struggling. These acquisitions, like middle-class favourites and Surrey-school-pick-up staples Joules and Boden can now shelter / thrive within groups that offer warehousing, distribution, digital and e-commerce capabilities. Financing accounted for a whopping 18% of Next’s profits and, recently, Frasers expanded its brand portfolio by acquiring THG's high-end e-com sites, part of a broader partnership that introduces Frasers' buy-now-pay-later and loyalty platform, Frasers Plus, to the THG customer. Michael Murray, who took over as Frasers’ CEO in 2022, has continued the strategy of acquiring and enhancing brand management, started by Mike Ashley. Despite its successes there have been some missteps and Frasers' inconsistent stakebuilding in companies like Boohoo results in a lower valuation compared to Next. However, Frasers is addressing legacy governance concerns and continues to perform well, trading on a forward price earnings multiple of 9, compared to Next's 15. High-street consolidators have significantly outperformed the market in the past year, and their strategy of acquiring and integrating brands is expected to continue. Today’s Lex in the Financial Times by Nathalie Thomas: ‘The UK high street will fall into ever fewer hands’ https://on.ft.com/4bhAJZK #IBMRetail #IBMConsumer #FMCG #ConsumerGoods #Retail #RethinkRetail #RethinkRetailTopExpert RETHINK Retail

Exciting news in the logistics sector: Yodel (Yodel Delivery Network Ltd) has been acquired by YDLGP, backed by Solano Partners and the leadership team of Shift, including founder Jacob C.. This strategic move includes the acquisition of Tuffnells Parcels Express, positioning the newly formed group as a logistics powerhouse. With Shift's AI technology, the group aims to revolutionize efficiency and automation in parcel and freight logistics. This not only safeguards thousands of UK jobs but also ensures continuity for clients and stakeholders. Looking forward to seeing how this merger, under the guidance of leaders like Corlett and Yodel CEO Mike Hancox, transforms the logistics landscape. #Logistics #MergersAndAcquisitions #TechnologyInLogistics