B2B Marketplace Jumbotail To Acquire Solv India

B2B ecommerce platform Jumbotail is acquiring rival marketplace Solv India for an undisclosed amount. 

In a statement, Solv India said that its investor Standard Chartered Bank’s venture capital arm, SC Ventures, has greenlit its acquisition by Jumbotail. The deal will be subject to regulatory approvals. 

While the statement didn’t mention the size of the deal, last month a report said that it would be pegged at around $50 Mn and will be a mix of cash and equity

The consolidated entity will be led by Jumbotail cofounders Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina. Meanwhile, SC Ventures’ operating member and Solv India’s board chairman Gautam Jain will join Jumbotail’s board.

The acquisition will pave the way for a major consolidation in the B2B marketplace space. The transaction will help Jumbotail leverage Solv India’s “capabilities” in apparel, home furnishing, footwear and toys segments. 

“The acquisition of Solv India by Jumbotail will create a significant horizontal multi-category B2B ecommerce platform in India with the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians,” Jain said on the acquisition. 

What Do Jumbotail & Solv India Do? 

Founded in 2015 by Venkateswaran and Jhina, Jumbotail offers a suite of go-to-market products and services to connect emerging brands with mom-and-pop stores. It runs a B2B marketplace for groceries and food, which primarily caters to wholesale buyers. It claims to cater to over 50,000 kirana stores across India. 

Jumbotail raised INR 151 Cr (around $18.3 Mn) in its Series C3 funding round, led by Artal Asia, last year. The startup has raised over $165 Mn in funding to date and counts the likes of Heron Rock, Sabre Investment, Arkam Ventures, Jarvis Reserve Fund, among others, as its investors. 

Jumbotail is yet to file its financial statements for FY24. Its net loss more than doubled to INR 264.16 Cr in FY23 from INR 124.74 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Revenue from operations jumped 117% to INR 819 Cr from INR 377.36 Cr in FY22.

Meanwhile, Solv India, incorporated in 2019, is a fully owned subsidiary of the Standard Chartered Group. The startup is a B2B ecommerce marketplace, which helps retailers source products directly from suppliers and offers credit to small enterprises. 

As per data available with Tofler, Solv India’s registered entity, Standard Chartered Research & Technology India Pvt Limited, reported a 40.44% increase in its net loss to INR 375 Cr in FY24 from INR 267 Cr in the previous fiscal year.