Unicommerce to acquire shipping automation firm Shipway

Industry:    1 week ago

Ecommerce software firm Unicommerce Esolutions said on Monday that it will acquire Gurugram-based shipping automation company Shipway.

The deal will be completed in tranches, Unicommerce said. In the first leg, it will purchase a 42.76% stake for Rs 68.4 crore. The balance will be acquired within a year through a merger or stock swap, taking 100% ownership in Shipway.

The acquisition is aimed at expanding Unicommerce’s product suite to include solutions for courier aggregation, shipping automation and returns reduction, covering its offerings from pre-purchase to post-purchase segments of ecommerce.

“The acquisition will also enable Unicommerce to offer an integrated marketing platform with AI-enabled, automated solutions that allow brands and retailers to target buyers with personalised, segmented and wide-reach marketing campaigns to increase conversions,” the company said in a statement.

Unicommerce currently offers four core products along with two new offerings: UniShip, which focuses on shipment tracking and returns management; and UniReco that manages payment reconciliation after order delivery.

The software solutions from Unicommerce and Shipway together will offer a “one-stop, seamless solution to simplify ecommerce for businesses in India”, Unicommerce managing director and chief executive Kapil Makhija said.

With this acquisition, Unicommerce will compete directly with Zomato-backed Shiprocket, which offers services such as shipping and checkout to direct-to-consumer brands.

Unicommerce Esolutions shares closed 3.85% lower at Rs 197 on the National Stock Exchange Monday. The stock had listed on stock exchanges on August 13 at a hefty premium — at Rs 235 on the NSE, more than double its issue price of Rs 108.

Founded in 2012, Unicommerce offers technology products to manage operations including warehouse and inventory management, order management, omnichannel retail management and seller management to ecommerce platforms.

It reported operating revenue of Rs 29 crore for the quarter ended September 30, compared with Rs 26 crore a year earlier. Net profit increased 21% year-on-year to Rs 4.4 crore.

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