Tata Motors Ltd said it will buy a 26.79% stake in digital logistics solutions platform Freight Tiger for Rs 150 crore, with an additional investment of Rs 100 crore planned over the next two years.
Freight Tiger, backed by private equity firm Florintree and venture capital firm Lightspeed, provides end-to-end logistics value chain solutions for cargo movement. The startup reported revenue of Rs 19 crore in FY23, compared to Rs 15.4 crore in FY22.
In a statement, Tata Motors said the strategic investment in Freight Tiger will accelerate its initiatives in driving “effectiveness and efficiency in the truck and freight ecosystem”. The Tata Group company has already introduced its connected vehicle platform Fleet Edge for aiding fleet operations management.
“Together, these innovative solutions (Fleet Edge and Freight Tiger) aspire to forge a comprehensive end-to-end digital ecosystem for the entire logistics value chain, covering both the truck and the trip ecosystem thereby bringing significant benefits to shippers, brokers and transporters who keep India moving,” said in a statement.
Tata Motors said it expects the acquisition to be completed by November 15.
“At Tata Motors, we are committed to transforming the road logistics industry with our innovative solutions and services. We believe that by playing a larger and deeper role in bringing all the stakeholders together to improve road logistics efficiency, we can create value for our core customers: the fleet owners,” said Girish Wagh, executive director, Tata Motors.
The Mumbai-based platform, which connects shippers, carriers, logistics service providers, and fleet owners to a unified digital marketplace, claims to facilitate more than 10 million trips on an annualised basis.
With Tata Motors’ backing, Swapnil Shah, founder & CEO of Freight Tiger said the company is “strategically positioned” to lead India’s efforts in reducing logistics costs to under 10% of GDP from over 14%.
Source: Economic Times