An InPost parcel-locker location in Wroclaw, Poland. (Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg)
February 9, 2026 8:36 AM, EST
| Updated: February 9, 2026 9:31 AM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- FedEx and Advent led a consortium launching a 15.60-euro-per-share bid to buy parcel-locker operator InPost in a deal valued at $9.3 billion.
- The offer, 50% above January trading levels, drew investor criticism that it undervalues InPost despite revenue and profit growth.
- The group aims to close the deal in the second half of 2026 as shareholders weigh support amid concerns of a price pullback if the bid fails.
Investors led by buyout firm Advent International LP and FedEx Corp. are seeking to buy Polish parcel-locker company InPost SA in a deal that values the business at 7.8 billion euros ($9.3 billion).
The consortium will begin a public offer at 15.60 euros a share in cash, according to a statement Feb. 9. The price is 50% above where the shares traded Jan. 2, just before InPost said it had received an indicative proposal from an undisclosed party, sparking a rally in its Amsterdam-listed shares. The latest announcement extended those gains, with InPost climbing as much as 14% to 15.20 euros.
The buyout group includes Czech investment firm PPF Group NV — its biggest shareholder — as well as InPost founder Rafal Brzoska. Advent sold most of its stake in the company’s initial public offering in 2021.
The IPO, priced at 15.60 euros, is widely viewed as a benchmark for the buyout offer, which requires a minimum acceptance threshold of 80%. At present, shareholders representing about 48% of the company’s shares have agreed to support the proposed transaction.
Advent and FedEx will each hold a 37% stake in the buyout consortium, with Brzoska owning 16%. Czech’s PPF will eventually reduce its stake to 10% following the transaction from nearly 29% currently. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
“An offer price below the IPO level, while revenue and profits have more than doubled in that time, patently undervalues the business” said Adam Montanaro, a fund manager at Montanaro Asset Management.
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According to him, minority investors are “stuck between a rock and a hard place” as they can either accept the offer or risk a sharp share price pullback in the near term if the deal collapses.
InPost’s market valuation has plummeted in past years, even as rapid expansion across Europe and the U.K. boosted parcel volumes and roughly tripled its adjusted profit. Analysts attributed the slide to heavy investments and competitive pressure from other logistic operators. InPost’s key partner Allegro.eu SA has also started adding its own lockers and working with rivals.
“The offer provides an attractive exit opportunity given the short-term slowdown in profit momentum and risks related to the fast expansion of competing networks in Poland,” said Trigon Dom Maklerski SA analyst Dominik Niszcz. “At the same time, a price below the IPO level may not be sufficient to convince a critical mass of minority shareholders, particularly those with a long-term investment horizon.”
Supervisory board Chairman Hein Pretorius defended the buyout price level on Feb. 9, arguing the transaction “should be assessed on its own merits” rather than being compared to the 2021 IPO market conditions as InPost was at a different development stage.
InPost said it will remain an independent company headquartered in Poland and will focus on its current markets. The group plans to link FedEx’s global network with its own parcel-locker infrastructure, enabling merchants to ship parcels outside Europe while helping FedEx customers reach European destinations.
“We assume this is not the final offer,” Sebastian Buczek, head of mutual fund Quercus TFI, said. “The proposal is below the IPO price, even though the company has developed significantly since its debut.”
FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 3 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight carriers.
