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Amazon has been given the option of acquiring a 4.2% stake in delivery firm Yodel.
The company has struck a deal with the Barclay brothers, owners of Yodel, the Ritz hotel and the Telegraph newspaper titles, according to accounts seen by The Guardian.
The deal values Yodel at £207m and gives Amazon the option of acquiring a 4.2% stake in the company for £8.7m. The option remains open until 2022.
Both companies declined to comment on the story.
Yodel, previously part of Littlewoods also owned by the Barclay brothers, now ships more than 135m parcels a year, making it the second largest delivery service in the UK after the Royal Mail.
It has more than 5,000 vans and employed more than 16,000 people delivering 14m parcels during last year's Christmas rush.
However, the parcel firm has been previously criticised by booksellers for delivering packages late or in damaged boxes over the Christmas rush in The Bookseller.
In January, 58% of a poll of 9,000 customers also said the Yodel delivery service was “bad” – although Yodel said it had serious concerns about the validity of the poll.
Yodel will also deliver 250,000 World Book Night titles this year.