Soon-to-be unicorn logistics startup Delhivery has acquired India operations of the Dubai-based logistics company Aramex. Delhivery’s co-founder Suraj Saharan confirmed the development however didn’t provide further details.
“The deal is done but we haven’t announced the details,” Saharan told FE Online. The terms of the deals including the value also wasn’t disclosed.
Aramex India’s country manager Hector Crasto too confirming the acquisition said that the deal is yet to be closed.
“The deal is yet to be closed but we are entering into the agreement of Delhivery buying Aramex India,” Aramex India’s country manager Hector Crasto told FE Online.
Delhivery has 30 fulfillment centres and over 2,500 delivery partners and 19 automated sorting centres, the company said on its website. The acquisition would likely strengthen its foothold into the e-commerce logistics market in India.
Launched in 2011, Gurugram-based Delhivery is backed by leading venture capital and private equity groups including Tiger Global Management, Multiples, Carlyle Group, Fosun Group, Nexus Venture Partners etc.
The company has so far raised $257.6 million through 6 rounds of funding and was reportedly valued $700-800 million in its last funding round of $130 million in May 2017.
Delhivery was reportedly planning to raise $450 million in its latest round that might value the company over $1 billion to join the elite club of unicorns from India.
Aramex FY2018 revenue stood at $1.38 billion against $1.28 billion in FY2017.
The e-commerce retail logistics market was $1.35 billion in size in 2018 making 19 lakh shipments a day. The market is expected to grow by around 36% over the following five-year period, said a report by KPMG last year.
The market, however, is plagued by factors including high costs, high rate of returns, and poor infrastructure, the report said.
Apart from Delhivery, Rivigo is another logistics startup that is nearing unicorn status with a reported valuation of around $900 million along with other startups including Ecom Express, Xpressbees, Shadowfax etc.
Delhivery, in its regulatory filings for FY2018, reported a 38% increase in its operating income to Rs 1023.05 crore from Rs 743.70 for the preceding year. However, its net loss also rose to Rs 692.21 crore for the said year against Rs 637.83 crore for FY2017.
Source: Financial Express